Afghanistan are set to take on the big wigs India in the first T20I of the three-match series at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali but will be without the services of their talisman and captain Rashid Khan, who is nursing an injury.
However, despite the big blow, stand-in skipper Ibrahim Zadran believes his team has enough good players to give India a run of their money in the series.
“Rashid is not totally fit. He is travelling with the team. We hope he gets fit as soon as we expect from him. He is doing his rehab with the doctor. We will miss him in this series. His experience is really important for all of us. But this is cricket and you should be ready for all kinds of situations,” Zadran told the media during the pre-match press conference.
“But apart from Rashid, there are few other players with us on whom I have trust. I can say they will play good cricket,” added Zadran.
“Trying to Improve Batting”
Zadran also talked about the key areas Afghanistan is looking to work on ahead of the T20 World Cup in June this year.
“We are trying to improve our batting skills. We have a few of the best spinners in the world. Our aim is to improve our batting skills which we need a lot. So yeah, we will try to do more on the batting side,” said the Afghanistan skipper.
Zadran also wants to work on his batting personally and improve his strike rate.
“I am trying to increase my strike rate and rotate the strike more. But it all depends on the situation. When the team needs you, you can’t play those fancy shots. But yes, if I increase my strike rate and do more for the team, it would be nice,” he said.
Zadran also wants to do well for Afghanistan as a captain and says that this is an added responsibility.
“I am playing all 3 formats for Afghanistan, I am trying to do everything for the country. In the past, I was only playing as a player but this time I am a skipper so there is a little more responsibility on me. I always try to enjoy my cricket. I will try to do good captaincy and play well for my country,” said the skipper.
Only Source of Happiness
Talking about the impact of this team’s performance on the people back home, Zadran said that cricket is the only source of their happiness. Zadran mentioned the reception that the team got after returning from the World Cup last year.
“I just went to Afghanistan for one day after the World Cup and then came back to UAE. But my teammates said all the people were really happy. Nowadays all around the country, people expect a lot from us because of how we played in the 2023 World Cup. Cricket is the only thing in the country which is giving happiness to the people of Afghanistan. We all in the team are trying to play good cricket and give happiness to those people,” said Zadran.
The ‘Cold’ Challenge
The weather in Mohali right now is freezing cold and this might pose a great challenge to both the teams on the field. People have covered themselves from head to toe, something these athletes can’t do while training and playing. This might prove to be a tough challenge for Afghanistan but the captain says that they are ready for it.
“As a cricketer, I want to be ready for any kind of situation. It will be a little bit hard but we’ll try to handle it. We came here for the games, I can’t say that it’s hard or difficult. I won’t accept that,” said Zadran.
Zadran is confident that his team will be doing well in this series.
“Playing against India on their home soil is quite difficult but we came here to play and win against them. I can say we have lots of good players in T20 and we are really good in T20 as all our boys are playing all around the world in different T20 leagues,” added Zadran.
The Afghanistan skipper ended the press conference by confirming Mohammed Nabi playing in the first T20I.
“Of course, Nabi will play. He is the most senior player in our team. He has a lot of experience, he will play,” the skipper confirmed.
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