Afghanistan’s build up to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 hasn’t been the smoothest, but if their big names manage to fire, the Asian side can cause some excitement over the coming weeks.
Squad:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.
Afghanistan’s debut in the global mega event was competitive, but they were still far behind the Test playing countries. They lost all their five hassles against them.
Their only palm came in a suspenser against Scotland. After brushing out the European side for 210, Afghanistan were in dire woe at132/8 before a bent ninth gate stage between Samiullah Shinwari and Hamid Hassan got them to 192. still, Shinwari’s redundancy
brought Scotland back into the game. still, Hassan and Shapoor Zadran kept their cool and delivered a one- gate palm in the final over.
Fixtures
vs Bangladesh (7 October), Dharamsala
vs India (11 October), Delhi
vs England (15 October), Delhi
vs New Zealand (18 October), Chennai
vs Pakistan (23 October), Chennai
vs Sri Lanka (30 October), Pune
vs Netherlands (3 November), Lucknow
vs Australia (7 November), Mumbai (Wankhede)
vs South Africa (10 November), Ahmedabad
Though Pakistan have beaten Afghanistan in all seven of their former ODI meetings, there’s an added enthusiasm whenever these two sides meet. Afghanistan have shown the propensity to lift their game against Pakistan. They’ve produced some scintillating justice whenever they ’ve gone up against their neighbouring rivals.
The two sides have featured in a number of nail- smelling contests across formats, including their last World Cup hassle, which Pakistan won by three lattices.
Afghanistan will also be chuffed by their T20I series win against the same opponents in March 2023. Afghanistan’s top- order has shown that it’s able of handling the Pakistan attack, meanwhile their baits can take control of the middle overs.
The overall experience of Pakistan players gives them an edge over Afghanistan. still, if the ultimate stick to their basics, one can anticipate a cracker of a contest on 23 October.
For the longest time, Afghanistan’s biggest weakness has been the incapability of their batters to match up to the quality of their world- class baits. Of late, they’ve bettered in the department, and among those leading the charge is their youthful gun, Ibrahim Zadran.
The 21- time-old has four ODI hundreds to his name and is closing in on a 1000 runs in the format. A big plus to his fur is his thickness. He pars53.58 with the willow, which is the loftiest for any Afghanistan batter, and has delivered several stable daises along with Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
Gurbaz- Zadran can set up a strong base at the top, which can be exploited by Afghanistan’s power blockbuster down the order. Zadran’s stable approach at the top can prove to be the gamechanger for Afghanistan in this World Cup crusade.
Despite their poor run going into the World Cup, it’s tough to ignore Afghanistan’s presence in the competition. The sheer quality that they carry within their species can prove to be the death of any side in the World Cup.
Their fur has bettered over the last many months. They’ve posted competitive summations relatively regularly and have been suitable to challenge stronger sides. They nearly beat Pakistan after scoring300/5 at Hambantota in August, and nearly shocked Sri Lanka out of the Asia Cup in Lahore.
Since the epidemic, they have won ODI series against Ireland, Netherlands, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. They’ve also drawn an ODI series against Sri Lanka.
While the pace attack is still raw, Fazalhaz Farooqi and Naveen- ul- Haq have shown they’re fast learners. They can play a good supporting hand to the Afghan tweakers.
Overall, of all their World Cup appearances so far, Afghanistan appear to be at their strongest in 2023. They might not have the biggest of names, but if the outfit figures out the right combinations and starts gelatinizing well beforehand in the event, the Asian side can beget a many dislocations in the forthcoming weeks. Know More Latest Cricket World Cup News…
