ICC World Cup 2019 | Afghanistan’s predicted XI for the game against Australia in Bristol
Afghanistan are all set to make their second appearance in the ICC Cricket World Cup tomorrow when they will meet the mighty Australians at the County Ground in Bristol. Afghanistan had a dream beginning in England as they defeated neighbouring Pakistan in the warm-up game last week.
Openers
Mohammad Shahzad: In spite of the injury scare, Mohammad Shahzad is more likely to open the innings for the Afghans in their first game of the tournament against the Aussies on Saturday. The hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman will have the responsibility of providing an attacking start to the side and will go after the bowlers in the power-play overs. Shahzad had suffered a hamstring injury during the first warm-up game against Pakistan, but it is hoped that he would be alright by tomorrow.
Hazratullah Zazai: A 49 against Pakistan in the first warm-up game gave a perfect start for the left-hander in this tour to England. The 21-year-old opener will form the left-right combination at the top of the order for the Afghans. He would want to improve on his batting average in the tournament and the World Cup will be a great learning curve for the youngster from Paktia.
Middle order
Rahmat Shah (WK): Although there will be Mohammad Shahzad in the playing XI, the Afghans as before will have Rahmat Shah keeping wickets in all the World Cup games for Afghanistan. After getting well-set against the Pakistanis, he went back into the hut and in the second warm-up game, he was not able to do anything impressive. However, scores of 113 and 62 against Scotland and Ireland respectively show the kind of form he is in and the damage he can do at the crucial no. 3 position in the Afghan batting order.
Hashmatullah Shahidi: Shahidi is another middle-order batter who is in great form. He had scores of 59* against Scotland and 12 and 47 against Ireland respectively. In the first warm-up game, the 24-year-old showed great character to score an unbeaten 74 against Pakistan to chase down the target in Bristol. Although he was unlucky to get out for 19 against the Englishmen, Shahidi’s performance will be vital for the team against Australia.
Asghar Afghan: The former captain of the team will have some responsibility to hold the middle-order together with the bat when the Afghans will face the Men in Yellow in Bristol on Saturday. Although his current form is a concern for the team, his experience of 102 ODIs speaks a lot about his ability. He has got one hundred and 11 fifties in the shorter format but will look forward to improving his average and strike rate in the tournament this year.
Noor Ali Zadran: 30-year-old Noor Ali Zadran has not got a lot of match practice in the last few months in international cricket. He only got a chance to bat against then hosts England in the second warm-up game after missing out on the first one. His score of 30 was not enough to judge his form but just like Asghar Afghan, Noor Ali’s experience with the bat might just help the team in crisis situations in the batting line up.
All-rounders
Gulbadin Naib (C): Gulbadin was given the responsibility of leading the team in the most important tournament and apart from being the captain, he will have to be a good bowler and a proper batsman in all the games for Afghanistan as well. Naib is not having a good time with the bat of late but with the ball in his hand, he ripped apart the Irish batting line-up in an ODI recently by claiming six wickets for only 43 runs. The right-arm medium fast bowler, however, will look ahead to the tournament to have some good time with the bat.
Rashid Khan: A leggie who can easily walk into any team as a bowler is an automatic choice in the side. The wrist spinner will want to create magic for the Afghans after his recent success in the franchise T20 tournaments. The national team will want him to contribute with the bat lower down the order as well. After picking up two wickets against the Pakistanis, Rashid was wicketless in the game against England.
Mohammad Nabi: Mohammad Nabi, both as a bowler and a batsman, has been an important member of the Afghanistan side. His performance for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League was very impressive as well and will want to continue with his sensible batting and effective off-spin bowling in the global showpiece event. The 34-year-old was the highest scorer with 44 runs against England and had scalped three wickets against the Pakistanis in the first warm-up game.
Pacers
Dawlat Zadran: Right-arm pacer Dawlat Zadran has been on the international circuit for eight years now and has plenty of experience behind him. A lot will depend on him to deliver with the new ball and restrict the Australian top-order from scoring runs at a brisk pace. He will combine with Hamid Hasan to ensure that the Afghans get a perfect start with the ball in the initial overs.
Hamid Hassan: The pitches in England in this World Cup is really tough and challenging for the bowlers. And, the game between Afghanistan and Australia is also a day-night encounter which will make it further more difficult for the bowlers. However, Hasan will want to use his 10-year international experience with another senior member Dawlat Zadran to steal the show in the first game to start the campaign on a great note for the fifth Asian team in the tournament.
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