If there is one team which has reasons to feel upbeat about a good showing at the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai, it is Afghanistan.
No more underdogs, their recent performance in the ICC 2023 ODI World Cup where they beat giants Pakistan and England and then followed it with a superb run to the semi finals in the ICC T20 World Cup in 2024 proved just that. They beat biggies Australia and New Zealand in the tournament and hence cannot be taken lightly by any opponent in the Champions Trophy.
They play their matches in Pakistan - in Karachi and Lahore - which is like their second home. Their first match is in Karachi where they take on South Africa on February 21 followed by matches against England (February 26) and Australia (February 28) in Lahore.
Lalchand Rajput, their former national coach is ‘extremely’ confident of a strong showing by the Afghan team.
Afghanistan has improved by leaps and bounds – they did extremely well in the 2024 T20 world cup and the venues are very well known to them.
The former Afghanistan coach was extremely confident about Afghanistan’s bowling attack which he termed as world-class.
They have three world-class spinners and the venues they play in Pakistan will be spin friendly.
Led by the wily Rashid Khan and experienced Mohammad Nabi along with the young left-arm pair of Noor Ahmad and Nangeyalia Kharote, their spin department is nothing short of lethal and invasive.
England and South Africa struggled against their spinners.
The weak link is in their middle order. If their batting clicks, the openers are backed by good middle order, showing they have every chance of going to top four..
The middle order is a matter of concern for Rajput batting-wise.
According to Rajput, the Afghan top order is very good. The opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, their two best batters in the last three years.
Gurbaz is like Sehwag, he likes dominating the bowlers. But they need partnerships in the middle order to do well.
Forty-year-old Nabi, who has announced his retirement plans after the tournament, is their most experienced player. According to Rajput, the leading all-rounder-cum-mentor of the team, would like to go on a high. But, as always, all eyes would be on leg-spinner Khan and the impact he has on the matches.
