T20 World Cup 2022: "He has not been consistent at all" - Aakash Chopra sees glaring weaknesses in Afghanistan
Aakash Chopra has picked Mohammad Nabi's indifferent recent form as one of the weaknesses for Afghanistan heading into the T20 World Cup.
Nabi will captain the Asian nation in the global T20 extravaganza, which starts in Australia today (October 16). The spin-bowling all-rounder did not have a great time in the Asia Cup with both bat and ball and will hope to give a better account of himself in the World Cup.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra highlighted the Afghanistan captain's poor form as a concern. He elaborated:
"What are this team's weaknesses? Mohammad Nabi's form. His form has dipped a lot, both in bowling and batting. He has not been consistent at all, which is a problem. If a captain's own form goes down, then decisions go weak. So this concern remains."
Chopra picked the absence of an express pacer as another of Afghanistan's weaknesses. The former India opener pointed out:
"There is no tearaway pacer, they have pacers who bowl around 130-135 kph; there is no one who can bowl at 140-145 kph. You get slightly surprised because if you see the Afghanistan belt, you feel that there should be bowlers who can bowl at 145-150 kph."
Chopra added that the circumstances in the country have not helped their cause. He observed:
"The cricket structure has not been able to flourish there; there is some helplessness and difficulties, but I feel that is definitely their weakness."
Afghanistan are primarily reliant on their spinners - Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Nabi in the bowling department. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq are expected to be their frontline seamers in the tournament.
"They don't have any experience of playing in Australia" - Aakash Chopra on Afghanistan's other weakness
Chopra pointed out that Afghanistan's lack of experience playing Down Under and against formidable teams could also prove to be their stumbling block. The reputed commentator said:
"They don't have any experience of playing in Australia. That is another concern; they have extremely limited experience of playing against big teams. So these are some glaring weaknesses that I am seeing."
Sri Lanka & India are the only Asian teams to win a T20I series in Australia.
Pakistan didn't win atleast a single T20I match in Australia. Bangladesh & Afghanistan didn't even play a T20I match in Australia.
Afghanistan have never played a game against Australia. They have also played just one and two shortest-format games against New Zealand and England respectively but came up short on all three occasions.