Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said on Tuesday that victory over defending champions England will give his side a lot of confidence in their World Cup match against New Zealand in Chennai on Wednesday. Afghanistan stunned England by 69 runs in Delhi on Sunday to register their second win in World Cup history. The Kiwis, who are unbeaten in the tournament so far, will pose a tough challenge for the Afghans but Shahidi claimed his side would be up to the task again.
“It was definitely a big win for us. England are defending champions. So that will give a lot of confidence to our team,” he said at the pre-match press conference.
“And we were confident from the start of the tournament, but the first two games didn’t go the way we wanted.” As for Afghanistan’s preparations, they have had enough camps and forays in India.
Afghanistan roped in former Indian batsman Ajay Jadeja as a mentor for this tournament, and Shahidi said having Indians by his side has really helped their batting to flourish.
“We also had a coach from India in the past, and currently Jadeja. If you look at India, their (Indians) batting is very good. So those conversations about batting and the team, it helps us when an Indian coach does that do.” with us,” he said.
Shahidi said he disagreed with the perception that cricket facilities in Afghanistan are inadequate.
“We have sufficient facilities to prepare. We also have good domestic cricket. If we want to prepare or organize camps in our country, it is possible.
“In every city, in Jalalabad, Kabul and Kandahar, we have facilities, we have stadiums, we have academies. It’s not like India, but still you can prepare yourself for it.” The Chepauk ground here is not unfamiliar territory for the Afghans as they have had numerous training and preparations here, and Shahidi believes the experience would come in handy against the New Zealanders.
“India was our home for two or three years. So we are used to it. On this ground we had a preparation camp for the 2019 World Cup. We spent 40 days here.
“So all these things give us a lot of advantage, especially in these circumstances like India, because with that the situation is the same for Afghanistan as well.”
Topics mentioned in this article
