In December 1979, Soviet tanks rolled into Afghanistan, ostensibly to prop up the regime in Kabul. It was seen as an "invasion" in the west and prompted American President Jimmy Carter to lead calls for a boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics in a bitter political campaign.

More significantly, many Afghans fled across the border into Pakistan, a land where cricket enjoys huge popularity. It was in refugee camps that some had their first glimpse of cricket. The sport has since taken hold with astonishing speed.

Cricket was certainly not on the agenda when Afghan sportsmen made their international bow at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.

Polo was part of the programme at those Games, but sadly there was no Afghan team, even though their traditional sport of buzkashi is an ancient variant.

First in action were athletes Mohammad Khan, who competed alongside the great Jesse Owens in the 100 metres and long jump. There was also Abdul Rahmin, a shot putter, and an Afghan hockey team.

In 1948 their footballers had the dispiriting distinction of elimination even before the Olympic flame had been lit. They lost 6-0 to Luxembourg at the Goldstone Ground in Hove in a preliminary match before the Opening Ceremony.

The seeds of an Olympic style competition for Asia were sewn that year and Afghanistan were signatories to the document which set events in motion. In 1951 at the inaugural Asian Games in Delhi, the Afghans were first into the stadium. 

Medal successes were rare.

Freestyle heavyweight wrestler Baralai Naseri won silver in 1954. His example was followed by the remarkable Mohammed Ibrahim, known as "Champion Haji". He won featherweight bronze at the 1962 Games in Jakarta and was feted by huge crowds on his return.

"The memory of that day is very sweet and I cherish it," he recalled much later. "People were applauding and some of them shed tears of joy. 

"I will never forget that."

He was given a cash prize by Zahir Shah, the last King of Afghanistan, and even taught future Afghan President Mohammad Najibullah to wrestle.

It took much longer for Afghanistan to enjoy any success in the Olympic arena.

Since Moscow 1980, the Afghan team has not run into double figures. Until 2004 it was also an exclusively male team.

In the 1990s, the Taliban's disapproval of women's sport made it difficult for them to progress, but at the Athens 2004 Games judoka Friba Razayee and 18-year-old sprinter Robina Muqimyar became the first women to wear their country's colours.

"We don't have the stadiums, we don't have the tracks, we do not have good shoes, we are running in very harsh conditions," said Muqimyar, who returned to compete at the Beijing 2008 Games.

It was at those Games that taekwondo player Rohullah Nikpai beat Spain's Juan Antonio Ramos to claim bronze in the flyweight division.

In the words of an Afghan television commentator, "happiness blossomed back home", where millions followed events.

When Nikpai returned, he displayed his medal to thousands waiting at the airport and toured Kabul on an open top float festooned with flowers and the national flag before a celebration in the city's Ghazi Stadium.

"I hope I can show a good image of my country through sport," he said. "Now they know Afghanistan from sport not war." 

Nikpai repeated his success at London 2012. He beat Great Britain's Martin Stamper to claim another bronze and roared his delight.

He had been a refugee in Iran before returning home to Kabul. The poster boy of Afghanistan cricket is also a refugee and had his first introduction to the game while living at a camp. Rashid Khan made his debut for the national side aged only 17 and has since become a favourite in the Indian Premier League with Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Such has been the rapid development of the team in the last decade that they reached the final stages of the World Cup in 2015.

In 2017, they were granted full Test match status by the International Cricket Council (ICC). They also played at Lord's in London against the prestigious Marylebone Cricket Club. Although the match was ultimately ruined by rain, the enthusiasm of the fans for cricket was clear to see.

Back home at grassroots level, the sport has been growing despite testing conditions. A charity called Afghan Connection has supported cricket for children with coaching programmes and equipment.

"The Afghan cricket team has actually brought joy to the nation, they've been so successful, it has given everybody something to celebrate," said Dr Sarah Fane, who worked in the country as a medic and founded the charity. 

"It has completely transformed life. There was so little joy there before, it was a place of real hopelessness and despair. Now cricket is the fastest growing sport, it is played all over the country and wherever you go you bump into kids playing on the street."

Although cricket's world governing body insists on gender equality, the women have not yet developed as quickly as the men in Afghanistan.

"It is very important to go slowly and carefully," said Fane. "We only do girls cricket in the city and we have been very careful how we have done it with female coaches, with parental consent and behind walls. We don't want to cause danger to the girls." 

A showpiece stadium in Khost attracted a crowd of more than 50,000 when opened in late 2016, but security considerations mean the Afghan team play international home matches some 1,020 kilometres away at Greater Noida in India.

"I think that is not too far from Afghanistan, a two hour flight, we are enjoying ourselves in India," said Khan. "They are the same conditions as Afghanistan."

His team-mates will approach their inaugural Test match in good heart after a 3-0 Twenty20 series win over Bangladesh in Dehradun. Khan was the man of the series and kept his nerve with a magnificent display of death bowling in the final match as Afghanistan prevailed by one run.

They will of course need to adjust from T20 to five day cricket in a very short space of time, although England batsman Jos Buttler has shown it can be done with his exploits this past week.

There is also some significant travelling to be done. Bangalore is 2,367km to the south.

India will be led next week by Ajinkya Rahane. Even before his injury, superstar Virat Kohli was never going to be part of the line-up, but playing against India in India has always presented a formidable challenge to even the most successful Test nations.

"Whether we play inside our home or outside, we have to mentally prepare for that," said Khan. "We know that we won't play in Afghanistan for two or three years. From now on it will be tough cricket but we will do our best."

It will certainly be the start of a heady 12 months for the Afghans. In under a year's time, they open their 2019 ICC World Cup campaign against reigning champions Australia.