5 Afghanistan players India can't afford to take lightly
14th June will be a historic day for Afghanistan as they will become the 12th nation to play Test cricket. In the last few years, Afghanistan have progressed by leaps and bounds in international cricket and the Afghan team have defeated big teams on numerous occasions.
Due to the rise of players like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mohammad Shahzad, Afghanistan have given the best of the teams a run for their money and have become a force to reckon with in International cricket. Afghanistan's next big challenge will be to continue their golden run in Test cricket too.
Although the T20 format is not a parameter to judge whether a team will excel in the longest format of cricket, the way Afghanistan have been performing, fans and cricket pundits are already predicting a strong performance from the team in Test cricket.
On the other hand, the Indian team are taking this as an opportunity to prepare themselves for the difficult tour of England. However, knowing Afghanistan's prowess and fantastic current form, India will not take them lightly. The Afghanistan team have a few world class players who can pose a major threat to India and can create a huge impact on the final result of the match. We will look at 5 such players who India can't afford to take lightly.
#5 Asghar Stanikzai
Asghar Stanikzai is the captain of the Afghanistan cricket team in all formats. He has successfully led the side over the years and will look to continue that in Test cricket too. The right-hand batsman, who normally bats in the middle order, will be the mainstay of Afghanistan's batting.
Stanikzai will look to use his experience to good effect and provide stability to the middle-order. He has an impressive average of 44.40 in first-class cricket and the Indian team cannot overlook his prowess with the bat.