Kabul: Afghan President Hamid Karzai Monday eulogized Afghan national cricket team over winning Asia Cricket Council (ACC) T20 Cup in Nepal.

"Afghan President Hamid Karzai in a telephone call to Afghan national cricket team Sunday night congratulated its victory in the match, saying the people of Afghanistan honour your recent success in the Asia Cricket Tournament," Karzai said a statement released by his office.

Despite raging insurgency, lack of funds and having no proper cricket pitch, the war-torn Afghanistan embarked on an extraordinary rise in cricket in recent years, Xinhua reported.

The Afghan team lifted the ACC T20 Cup after defeating Chinese Hong Kong in the final match Sunday.

In the tournament that kicked off Dec. 3, Afghanistan defeated the Maldives, Bhutan and Nepal before the final.