Despite inexperience, Afghanistan batting coach Umesh Patwal backs his batters' skills

Afghanistani batsmen seem to be more accomplished in the T20 format. Mohammad Shahzad had earlier stated that he believes in making six runs in one ball, rather than taking six singles in six balls. This statement, however, projects the mental belief of the team as the player himself has played 96 T20s as opposed to 20 first class games. Rashid Khan has recently emerged as an ace player in the team. With 21 wickets in 17 games at an economy rate of 6.73, he made many batters struggle in IPL. Umesh Patwal, however, stated that the team cannot be wholly depended on Rashid.

“There is always an era. Now, for Indian cricket, it's Virat Kohli. That doesn't mean India doesn't have good bowlers. If you don't have a good score on the board, how can Rashid defend it?

“This is a team game. It looks like the team is only Rashid Khan, but no, it's about Afghanistan and Rashid is a part of it. There are batters like Javed Ahmadi and Rahmat Shah who have scored plenty of runs. We have chased down nearly 500 runs in a day in a first-class game. And that's a big deal,” Umesh mentioned.

Umesh has stated that even though they are against the best-ranked Test side of the world, they are not at all under any types pressure. They have familiar faces to deal and the place itself isn't foreign for the team since they have moved their base to Noida. Moreover, Umesh feels that International cricket has become much closer because of improved communication and technology.

“International cricket has become so much closer. You know about everybody and everything. You watch and learn because all the stats and videos are available,” Umesh said.

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