3 reasons why Afghanistan will cause a flutter at the World Cup
The transformation of Afghanistan from a country embroiled in civil strife to a cricket-fanatic country has been nothing short of incredible. The likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Shahzad and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have become household names and have been the characters around whom their fairy tale has revolved.
In June 2019, Afghanistan will embark on their 2nd World Cup escapade having made their bow in Australia three years ago. In Australia, Afghanistan got their first win on the board courtesy a nerve-wracking one-wicket triumph over fellow Associates, Scotland.
However, Afghan cricket has come a long way since their debut appearance at the World Cup. In June 2018, they played their first ever Test match against India while they currently find themselves as the eighth best T20I team in the world.
Additionally, their players have become hot commodities in global T20 leagues. Mujeeb, Rashid and Nabi have had their time in the IPL sun with Mujeeb and Rashid establishing themselves as first choice starters.
Having won the qualifiers tournament, ahead of Zimbabwe and West Indies, the Afghans would fancy themselves to make a splash come June 2019. Through the course of this article, we would look at the three reasons which make Afghanistan a tough proposition to tackle at the World Cup.
#3 Significant improvement in batting
Afghanistan arrived on the international stage and boasted of a couple of quality fast bowlers. Shapoor Zadran and Dawlat Zadran quickly spring to mind. However, over the years, they have had some precocious talent coming through the batting door as well.
While Shahzad has been an effervescent presence at the top of the order, it is the introduction of the likes of Ihsanullah, Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi which has lent strength to their batting.
Rahmat is pleasing on the eye and has shown glimpses of his extraordinary talent. He already has 3 ODI hundreds to his name and if he continues batting in the same vein, one can expect him to be the fulcrum around which the Afghan batting would revolve.
However, their batting might isn’t only restricted to the top of the order. Their captain, Asghar Afghan is an able marshal of the middle order and he has Nabi for company. In addition to Nabi, Rashid and Gulbadan Naib have portrayed the ability to carve boundaries in the death overs.
Though Afghanistan’s strength still lies in the bowling department, they now have a batting line-up capable of keeping up with the opposition and thus laying the foundation for their bowling to make the difference.