Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi believes matches against top teams like India provide invaluable lessons for his side as they continue their development in international cricket. After suffering a defeat in the opening ODI, Afghanistan are hoping to level the three-match series when the teams meet again in the second game.
Although Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s explosive century gave Afghanistan hope in the rain-affected first ODI, India managed to stay in control during key moments and take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Shahidi: Afghanistan must grab their chances
The Afghanistan skipper admitted that facing a team of India’s quality leaves very little room for mistakes, making it crucial to capitalize on opportunities whenever they arise.
“When you play teams like India, they don’t give you too much chances so when you are ahead, you have to take advantage of that and don’t give the game back to them,” Shahidi told PTI on the eve of the second ODI.
“No matter how much we play, India are a very tough team in their own conditions. Any team that comes here finds it challenging,” he added.
This series marks Afghanistan’s first-ever bilateral ODI assignment against India, and Shahidi feels such contests are essential for the team’s long-term progress.
The captain feels that playing against elite opposition gives players a sense of what is needed at the top level, as well as highlighting areas for improvement.
“When we play against teams like India, we learn a lot. The boys gain confidence from competing in high-quality cricket. We identify our mistakes and understand the areas where we are lacking.”
“By seeing and analysing those things, we can improve our team even further. That is why playing such series and matches is extremely important for us.“
Shahidi also pointed to Afghanistan’s limited ODI schedule in recent years, suggesting that the lack of regular 50-over cricket has affected the team’s rhythm and preparation.
“At the same time, we haven’t played ODI cricket for so long. From (the) last two years, I think we (have) played eight or nine ODI games, so it’s very less. Maybe that was also an issue with us in the last game.”
Despite their growing reputation as a dangerous white-ball side, Afghanistan have not had many opportunities to play ODI cricket consistently.
Also Read: PCB draws the line: Skip domestic cricket, risk you contract
Focus on developing fast bowlers ahead of World Cup
Afghanistan have traditionally relied on their strong spin attack, with players like Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad and AM Ghazanfar becoming household names in international cricket.
However, Shahidi stressed that Afghanistan also have talented fast bowlers and are working towards giving them more opportunities, especially with the next ODI World Cup set to be played in South Africa.
“We have a lot of talent in Afghanistan. Our spinners are doing very well. People often look at our team and say we don’t have many fast bowlers. The reason is not that we don’t have fast bowlers; the reason is that they don’t get enough opportunities.“
“When we play in Asian conditions, especially in places like the UAE, we often go with four spinners. Because of that combination, people think we don’t have other options. We do have options, but naturally we focus more on spin in those conditions.”
South Africa conditions present new challenge
Looking ahead to the ODI World Cup in South Africa, Shahidi acknowledged that Afghanistan must prepare for conditions that are vastly different from those in Asia.
The skipper said the team is focused on improving both its pace-bowling resources and batting approach to handle the extra pace and bounce expected in South African conditions.
“The World Cup will be in South Africa, and we understand that we need to strengthen our fast-bowling department. We need to motivate the fast bowlers and make sure they play under pressure situations so they can understand where they need to improve and how they can develop themselves.“
“As for batting, Asian teams generally find South African conditions challenging because of the pace and bounce. We will continue working on those areas as well so that we can achieve good results there,” he added.
With the series still alive, Afghanistan will now look to apply those lessons quickly and produce a stronger performance against India in the second ODI.
The post ‘India don’t give you second chances’: Afghanistan captain Shahidi’s honest admission ahead of 2nd ODI appeared first on Cricket Country.
