Afghanistan can beat Pakistan with proper planning and bit of calmness: Asghar Afghan
With a brilliant all round performance against Bangladesh in their last group stage match, Afghanistan have now qualified for the Super Fours of the Asia Cup. Najibullah Zadran’s blistering knock of 43 runs from 17 deliveries sealed the deal for the Afghanis as they registered a 7-wicket victory over the Bangla Tigers. The Shakib Al Hasan-led side will now play a virtual knock-out match against Sri Lanka, as the winner will qualify for the next round.
The social media was buzzing following Afghanistan’s win over Bangladesh. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s heroics didn’t let the Bangladeshi batters settle for a bit and with that, the netizens took to Twitter to say that this team can cause an upset in the tournament and might even beat either of India or Pakistan, in case both qualify for the Super Fours.
Former Afghanistan international Asghar Afghan didn’t rule out the possibility. He stated that most of their games against Pakistan have been close and now if the team remains calm and has a proper plan, then they can eventually beat Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
Speaking to Cricket News website, the 35-year-old said, “If our players can stick to the plan and remain calm, then we will have a really good match against Pakistan and hopefully we can even beat them.”
Indian players have an idea how to play against Rashid and Mujeeb because of the IPL: Asghar Afghan
With 3-wickets each against Bangladesh, Rashid and Mujeeb have been the focal point of every discussion. Right from the powerpay, Mujeeb gave no space to the Bangladeshi batters and took the match under control with his three crucial wickets in the powerplay. Later Rashid was introduced in the attack and did exactly what Mujeeb did earlier.
Seeing the duo bowl, a lot of teams need to stay on high alert. The conditions of UAE suits their bowling and thus they can challenge India and Pakistan team for the mega title. However, Asghar believes that India can have the edge as they have played Rashid and Mujeeb a lot in the Indian Premier League.
“Players who played a lot against them, can only play well against them. The Indian players can play our bowlers well because they have played a lot in the IPL. Thus, they have an idea of them. The players of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka don’t know how to tackle our bowlers because they didn’t play a lot against us,” said the 35-year-old for Cricket News website.
