T20 World Cup 2022: "This team can beat anyone anytime" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan's strengths
Aakash Chopra has highlighted Afghanistan's strengths heading into the T20 World Cup 2022 and pointed out that they can spring a surprise against any team.
Afghanistan have directly qualified for the group stage of the global T20 event, which is being played in Australia from Sunday, October 16. They will begin their campaign against England in Perth on October 22.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra warned the other teams against taking Mohammad Nabi and Co. lightly. He elaborated:
"Afghanistan is an amazing team. In the T20 format, rule them out at your own peril, which means if you say that they are a useless team, you might have to pay for it, because this team can beat anyone anytime."
Chopra picked Afghanistan's well-rounded bowling attack as their biggest strength. The former India batter explained:
"If we talk about their strengths, this team has a good bowling lineup. They have three spinners, they want to stifle you, whether it is Mujeeb, Rashid or Nabi. Then they have a decent pace attack. It is not a very attractive pace attack but it can do the job."
Chopra reckons Afghanistan could trouble Australia if the Adelaide pitch assists their spinners, saying:
"So they will go with the mantra of spin to win even in Australia, although the conditions might be slightly different. Their first match is against England in Perth, which is not a great thing. They will play Australia in Adelaide, they can get them stuck if spin works there."
Spin bowling ka wonder, ready for the challenge Down Under 🔥🙌🇦🇺
#T20IWC #WC2022
[📸: @rashidkhan_19] https://t.co/gngAlTu9fr
Afghanistan will play their final group stage game against the hosts at the Adelaide Oval on November 4. Apart from their tournament opener against England in Perth, they will also play two games in Melbourne and one match in Brisbane.
"They have explosive strength in batting" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan's other strength
Chopra picked Afghanistan's power-packed batting lineup as their other area of strength. The renowned commentator stated:
"They have explosive strength in batting - Gurbaz, Zazai, Najibullah Zadran - they are players who can take the game away in a heartbeat. If they play eight to 10 overs, they can spring a surprise as far as their batting is concerned. There is of course slightly more might seen in the bowling."
Afghanistan have a plethora of destructive batters in their lineup. The likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai and Najibullah Zadran can dismantle any bowling attack on their day.