With a lot of cricket coming up, we need to beat top oppositions more often, says Rashid Khan
Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan believes that with more and more competitions coming up for the team, there's going to be more exposure for the players to know the top oppositions better. While Rashid was disappointed with the tri-series final getting washed out, he is happy about the experience.
Afghanistan's captain across all formats of the game, Rashid Khan believes that his team will only get better with more exposure and more matches against Test-playing nations. The players had a successful tour of Bangladesh in the recently concluded tri-series, the final of which was washed out.
Before the start of the T20I series, Afghanistan had stunned the hosts in the one-off Test, by achieving their first-ever Test win against a full-fledged Test-playing nation. Getting to play the tri-series final would have been better for the team's confidence, feels Rashid, as the 21-year-old laments the absence of a reserve day. But he's only looking forward to the upcoming stints.
"We were discussing this topic in the dressing room, how good it would be if there was a reserve day for the final. It is disappointing for a player to get the final rained off," Rashid was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
"We have our domestic T20 competition, starting from October 7. From November 5, we have the West Indies series, so there's a lot of cricket coming up."
The spinner further went on to praise their performance against major oppositions and how the team has always stepped up their game. The skipper believes that the team will get better and more polished with experience. And by experience he meant playing against more and more top oppositions so that they get to know their competition better.
"We were always on track. Our performance at the World Cup was amazing. We made the games but couldn't finish it up. We lost five games in the last five or ten overs. We had the momentum and form in batting and bowling, but we couldn't finish well. It comes with more experience. We are new in this arena. The more we play, the better we will be," Rashid said.
"We have played only twice against Australia, New Zealand and England in the last five years. We would have known their strengths and weaknesses. It should be looked into. The best example is Bangladesh. They played a lot against South Africa and ended up having the best result against them in the World Cup. If we want to be a good side, we should play more against the top sides. Not one match in four years. These teams have four fast bowlers who bowl 140-plus. We play against Scotland and Ireland, and they hardly have a 140-plus bowler," the captain lamented.
Rashid is aware of his team's popularity and the love they receive worldwide and so he believes that both Bangladesh and Afghanistan need to start playing more often and in longer series.
"People back home want us to play more against Bangladesh. Here also people want to play against Afghanistan. We should have longer series, like have the main focus on 50 overs and Test matches. Cricket boards should think about it. There should be a three-match Test series. There's more room to learn and have different experiences. More 50 overs and Tests would be better for both nations," he said.
