5 key players for Afghanistan in Afghanistan tour of Ireland 2018
Ireland will host Afghanistan for a 3-match T20I series commencing next week. This will be followed by a three-game ODI series scheduled to start at 27th August. Both teams will be facing each other for the first time since they have been elevated to test status and will be eager to prove their superiority over one another.
Afghanistan played their inaugural test against India and it must have been a great learning experience for them. Prior to that, they white-washed Bangladeshi team in a three-match T20I series played in India. There is no denying the fact that the team will be riding high on confidence.
The story of Ireland is also somewhat similar. They debuted in international test cricket against Pakistan in May this year. The result was not in their favour but they earned a lot of appreciation for the way they played. After Pakistan enforced the follow-on, their batsmen showed great resilience and avoided an innings defeat.
They also played a two-match T20I series against India in the month of June. They lost the series but there were some positives for the team.
The fight for the trophies between these almost equal-strength teams is surely going to offer a lot of excitement as well as entertainment. Here, in this article, we will take a look at 5 key players for Afghanistan who will be deciding the team's fortune on this tour.
#1 Mohammad Shahzad
Mohammad Shahzad has established himself as one of the finest stroke-players of the limited overs format in modern cricket. Shahzad has proven his worth time and again with a series of remarkable batting performances. He has a T20I century against his name, a feat achieved by very few batsmen in the world. He adds a lot of firepower to their side, thus helping his team to score a good, competitive total on most occasions. He will also be donning gloves for his team.
If Afghanistan is to win the matches on this tour, then Shahzad will have to lead the show from the front.
Mohammad Shahzad in T20Is:
Matches - 63, Runs - 1906, Avg. - 31.76, SR - 135.17, HS - 118, 100s - 1, 50s - 12
Mohammad Shahzad in ODIs:
Matches - 70, Runs - 2275, Avg. - 33.96, SR - 90.35, HS - 118, 100s - 4, 50s - 12