India’s coach, Rahul Dravid, delivered a warning, stating his team will “not take Afghanistan lightly” in their second-round opener of the T20 World Cup on Thursday in Barbados.
India went into a Super Eights with two groups of four after being undefeated in the initial phase of pool play.
However, Afghanistan has also demonstrated that they are a legitimate contender for the semi-finals.
Dravid refused to embrace the Afghans without a fight. In fact, he claims that some of their players have more global experience than Indian players when it comes to playing T20 cricket.. “They are a dangerous team in this format. They may not have as much international experience as some of our players but they play more T20 leagues across the world than our guys do. They have quite a few prominent players who have been part of the IPL as well,” Dravid said. He also added, “We know Afghanistan is a very dangerous team in this format of the game, They have shown that by their performances in this World Cup”
The foundation of Afghanistan’s success has been their excellent spin bowling, led by Rashid Khan, who claimed four wickets for 17 runs in a match against New Zealand in Guyana. “They have a good bowling attack all round,” said Dravid. “Even their two pacers are quite experienced. Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq have both played a lot of cricket, they both swing the ball as well. “I think their bowlers are some of the most sought-after bowlers in this format across the world.
In 1997, India failed in the chase of 120 in the fourth innings to lose the series it is still one of the India’s most painful losses. To which Dravid smiles when reminded of that ahead of India’s first Super-8’s game Afghanistan. “Come on, I have had a few good memories of this venue as well, and I live in the present. If you had told me winning here will help me change the past as well, I would have been worried. But it doesn’t work that way, right?
In addition, India head coach Rahul Dravid made a suggestion that wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav would be used in the Caribbean leg of the T20 World Cup, beginning with the Super 8 match against Afghanistan.
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