Afghanistan play their inaugural Test against India at the M Chinnaswamy
Stadium in Bengaluru from Thursday June 14,2018
Having achieved relative success in the T20 and ODI format, this is the big break for the boys from the war-torn nation.
While India will miss the services of regular skipper Virat Kohli — out injured — Ajinkya Rahane is set to lead a team that is otherwise at full strength.
A look at the 5 players from the Afghanistan outfit who would look to make it a match to remember for the new boys on the Test block
1)Rashid Khan
He is to Afghanistan what Virat Kohli is to the Indian team — a
match-winner. The wicket doesn’t really matter when the new spin
sensation has the ball in his hand. His spells over the years in
different T20 leagues as well as for the national team has bamboozled
batsmen all over. Be it his fast leg-spinners or his ripping googlies,
it is on the back of sheer consistent performance that he earned the tag
of the best T20 bowler at present from the legendary Sachin Tendulkar
during this edition of the Indian Premier League.
A T20 hero in his own right, it is now time for Rashid to up his ante and show that he can get the red ball to rip just as much as he has managed to get revolutions on the white ball. If Afghanistan is to make a match of their inaugural Test match, then Rashid will definitely have to lead the show from the front. His experience in the IPL will come in handy as the nature of the Bengaluru wicket won’t be a surprise for him, having played for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
2)Mujeeb Ur Rahman
An unknown identity on the world stage till Kings XI Punjab picked him
at the auction at this year’s IPL, for a staggering Rs4 crore, the
17-year-old reposed the faith of the owners with sterling performances,
the highlight being the dismissal of RCB skipper Virat Kohli. Injury saw
him miss a few games, but the spinner still finished with 14 wickets
from 11 games at an economy of 6.99.
A mystery bowler, Mujeeb bowled the perfect googly to sneak through the bat and pad of Kohli and rattle the stumps. Kohli couldn’t believe his eyes as the youngster celebrated one of his best wickets.
Despite no experience at the first-class level, it was Mujeeb’s performance in the IPL that earned him a place in the Test squad and his mixture of off-spin, leg-spin and googlies could be quite a handful for the Indian batsmen even if there is an inch of turn on the M. Chinnaswamy wicket. The fact that he has performed well against some of the best sides at the U-19 level would further act as a confidence booster when he takes the field in Afghanistan’s first Test, especially the five-for he took against Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup.
3)Asghar Stanikzai
He is the captain of the ship and while the team is set to play its
maiden Test against India, Stanikzai has already made a name for himself
in the international arena. While associate team players have over the
years had a habit of playing reckless cricket, trying to attempt a shot
off every ball, the 30-year-old is one of those batsmen who have the
mindset to spend long hours at the crease without losing his focus. He
was out for 10 days with appendicitis surgery earlier this year — Rashid
Khan led the team at the World Cup qualifiers — but the man is back and
he would definitely want to show that his knocks against the minnows of
world cricket were no flashes in the pan.
He was an integral member of the Afghanistan team that beat Bangladesh to register their first win over a Test-playing nation and his knock of unbeaten 90 off 103 balls was one of the cornerstones of the team’s 32-run win over the Bangla Tigers. As skipper, Asghar will look to take on Ajinkya Rahane and his boys on the front-foot, much like his batting.
4)Mohammad Shahzad
The burly wicketkeeper has an eye for headlines. Be it with the bat or
his statements, Shahzad believes in living life to the fullest. Add to
that his prolific numbers in T20 cricket and you have the complete
package. Earmarked a T20 specialist due to lack of opportunities in the
longer formats, the 30-year-old has shown that he is no ‘see ball, hit
ball’ batsman when he hit a quality unbeaten 214 to chase down a target
of 494 in a 2010 Intercontinental Cup match against Canada.
Coming to his off field antics, he recently stole headlines when he said that he didn’t need to work on his diet as he could hit longer sixes than India skipper Virat Kohli. With the world watching when his team plays its inaugural Test against India from June 14, Shahzad would definitely look to use the opportunity to once again steal the limelight on the field. In 2016, he was named the ICC Associate & Affiliate Cricketer of the Year, thereby becoming the first Afghan player to get the award and a successful outing in his country’s inaugural Test would be another feather in his cap.
5)Mohammad Nabi
One of the senior-most members of the team, Nabi has also been the
leader of the pack in the past on a couple of occasions. In fact, along
with Rashid Khan, he was the first Afghanistan player to be picked up by
Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League. The experience of
playing against some of the best Indian players in the IPL will
definitely come in handy as he will look to guide the young Afghanistan
players, bound to be nervous in their first Test match.
Apart from leading the team in the past, Nabi is another Afghanistan player who has been a part of the various T20 leagues across the globe like the Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League among others. Also, he is a handy customer with bat and ball and could be the answer to skipper Asghar Stanikzai if he needs a gritty knock in the middle or a couple of wickets with the ball.
At 33, Nabi is not getting any younger, but his fitness is an inspiration to the rest of the team. Not to forget, Nabi was an integral part of the Afghanistan side that qualified for the World T20 in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016, as also the 2015 World Cup.
Having achieved relative success in the T20 and ODI format, this is the big break for the boys from the war-torn nation.
While India will miss the services of regular skipper Virat Kohli — out injured — Ajinkya Rahane is set to lead a team that is otherwise at full strength.
A look at the 5 players from the Afghanistan outfit who would look to make it a match to remember for the new boys on the Test block
1)Rashid Khan
A T20 hero in his own right, it is now time for Rashid to up his ante and show that he can get the red ball to rip just as much as he has managed to get revolutions on the white ball. If Afghanistan is to make a match of their inaugural Test match, then Rashid will definitely have to lead the show from the front. His experience in the IPL will come in handy as the nature of the Bengaluru wicket won’t be a surprise for him, having played for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore.
2)Mujeeb Ur Rahman
A mystery bowler, Mujeeb bowled the perfect googly to sneak through the bat and pad of Kohli and rattle the stumps. Kohli couldn’t believe his eyes as the youngster celebrated one of his best wickets.
Despite no experience at the first-class level, it was Mujeeb’s performance in the IPL that earned him a place in the Test squad and his mixture of off-spin, leg-spin and googlies could be quite a handful for the Indian batsmen even if there is an inch of turn on the M. Chinnaswamy wicket. The fact that he has performed well against some of the best sides at the U-19 level would further act as a confidence booster when he takes the field in Afghanistan’s first Test, especially the five-for he took against Pakistan in the final of the Asia Cup.
3)Asghar Stanikzai
He was an integral member of the Afghanistan team that beat Bangladesh to register their first win over a Test-playing nation and his knock of unbeaten 90 off 103 balls was one of the cornerstones of the team’s 32-run win over the Bangla Tigers. As skipper, Asghar will look to take on Ajinkya Rahane and his boys on the front-foot, much like his batting.
4)Mohammad Shahzad
Coming to his off field antics, he recently stole headlines when he said that he didn’t need to work on his diet as he could hit longer sixes than India skipper Virat Kohli. With the world watching when his team plays its inaugural Test against India from June 14, Shahzad would definitely look to use the opportunity to once again steal the limelight on the field. In 2016, he was named the ICC Associate & Affiliate Cricketer of the Year, thereby becoming the first Afghan player to get the award and a successful outing in his country’s inaugural Test would be another feather in his cap.
5)Mohammad Nabi
Apart from leading the team in the past, Nabi is another Afghanistan player who has been a part of the various T20 leagues across the globe like the Big Bash League, Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League among others. Also, he is a handy customer with bat and ball and could be the answer to skipper Asghar Stanikzai if he needs a gritty knock in the middle or a couple of wickets with the ball.
At 33, Nabi is not getting any younger, but his fitness is an inspiration to the rest of the team. Not to forget, Nabi was an integral part of the Afghanistan side that qualified for the World T20 in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016, as also the 2015 World Cup.
No comments:
Post a Comment