T20 World Cup 2021 | Captaincy is a tough job, will try my best, says Mohammad Nabi

10/15/2021

Mohammad Nabi has stated that he has a tough job as Afghanistan captain in the T20 World Cup, and is hopeful of giving his best to the team. The 36-year-old further added that he is excited to lead his side in the marquee event, and the team is looking forward to playing quality cricket.

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had announced Mohammad Nabi as captain of the final T20 World Cup squad on October 10. The decision of the ACB came after Rashid Khan decided to step down as Afghanistan's captain over team selection. The Mohammad Nabi-led side are pooled in Group 2 of Super 12 alongside India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and a qualifier. The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on October 17 in UAE and Oman.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Nabi stated that the captaincy is a tough job, and he will try his best to ensure good performance by the Afghanistan cricket team in the T20 World Cup. He further added that he is excited to lead the team, and the players are preparing themselves for playing quality cricket throughout the tournament.

"Yeah, it's a tough job at the end, I will try my best to lead the team in the World Cup and perform well in the tournament. [I am] really excited to play as a captain in this event," Nabi said in a conference call with the media.

"The team is brilliant and they are preparing from the last one and half month, and there was little-bit (of) struggle on visas, so didn't arrive in UAE early, they were practising in Qatar.

"They (the players) adjust with the weather, Qatar and UAE weather are all (almost) the same. We will try our best to perform well in the tournament...and go until the end," added the Afghanistan all-rounder.

Speaking on his role in the Afghanistan team, Nabi reckoned that his mindset is always to play according to the situation. The Afghanistan captain further added that, if the top-order batsmen fails to perform, he has the responsibility to take the innings forward.

"It depends on the match situation, whether the team needs me. If there is pressure on the top that we didn't get any runs, then I try and save my wicket until the end and then I try to hit at the end.

"This is my mindset always to play, depending on the situation and it has helped me a lot," said Nabi.

Afghanistan have roped in former Zimbabwe cricketer Andy Flower as a batting consultant for T20 World Cup, and Nabi stated that the former England coach knows everything about UAE pitches and the conditions in the Gulf country.

"I played under his coaching in CPL [Caribbean Premier League] and also in T10. He is a great coach and also a great mentor for every player as well and, also he is working with the batsmen.”

"...he practised with five-six players in one or two sessions in Abu Dhabi, but he is brilliant, he knows everything about UAE pitches and all these conditions, yeah," added Nabi.

The Afghanistan cricket team have also appointed former South African star Lance Klusener as head coach, and ex Australian pacer Shaun Tait as bowling coach ahead of the ICC mega event.

Afghanistan will play their first match on October 25 in Sharjah, against a yet-to-be-decided qualifier from round one.