Nation, ACB Hope Cricket Team Will Shine In Champions Trophy

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) Spokesperson Sayed Nasim Sadaat has said that the national cricket team was ready for participation in the Champions Trophy scheduled to begin tomorrow (Wednesday).

The tournament is taking place in Pakistan but matches that involved India would be played in Dubai.

Afghanistan for the first time managed to play in Champions Trophy, the national side is in the second group with Australia, England and South Africa.

ACB Spokesperson Sayed Nasim Sadaat during an exclusive interview told Pajhwok Afghan News:“The national cricket team has played many matches in 2024 in preparation for the Champions Trophy, a four-match fifty-over series with the national teams of South Africa, Bangladesh, Ireland, and Zimbabwe, in which Afghanistan emerged victorious.”

He added that for further preparation, they held two training camps in February, one in the United Arab Emirates and the other in Pakistan, and also played two practice matches. According to Sadat, the goal of the training in Pakistan was for the players to become more familiar with the country's climate and field.

Sadat said that although Mujeeb Zadran and Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, two slow bowlers who are not in good health, have been replaced by other good players.

“Because Pakistan is an Asian country and the national team, especially the slow bowlers, shined well in Asian fields, and our goal is to defeat the teams so that we can be at the top of the table and be able to qualify for the next stage and then the final,” he said.

He said that Afghanistan is in Group (B) and will compete against South Africa on February 21, England on the 26th of this month, and Australia on the 28th.

Players committed to shine in tournament

Hashmatullah Shahidi, the captain of national side, said the player have started practice from the past one month and worked on their weak areas.

He said the players were fully ready and they would mark history in this tour.

Sediq Atal, a national team player, said he was happy to be participating in this big cup for the first time and was ready for the games

Experts' analysis

Ahmad Farhad Fidae, a cricket analyst, said:“This is the first time that Afghanistan is participating in the Champions trophy and this is a big boost for the country, considering the recent matches, the teams that are playing against Afghanistan in Group (B) have not been playing well lately and have been defeated in their matches, but the national team has been playing well in recent matches, which can have a very good impact.”

He added:“The only challenge for the national team is the lack of slow bowlers with the new ball. Unfortunately, Mujib has been away from the team for a long time due to injury, his replacement was Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, who unfortunately also got injured and a gap has been created, but I hope the national team will not let this gap cause them to lose games.”

Asad Khan, another cricket analyst, said:“Fortunately, Afghanistan is participating in tournament for the first time due to its strength and ability and having its best players, but as strong as our players are, our opponents are also strong, and the cricket board did not provided training facilities for the players they it should have.”

He criticised the Cricket Board for not understanding the importance of this tournament and that it should have noticed the gaps and positive points months ago.

Public expectations

Mohammad Elyas, a resident of Kabul, said he trusted the national cricket team and hoped that the national side would defeat its opponents in the first stage.

Noor Mohammad, another resident, also said that he is waiting for the start of these Champions Trophy and for the national team to defeat the teams again, as it has defeated them before.

Ahmed Bilal, another resident,“The way the team did not made us disappointed in the World Cup, we are still not disappointed, we have strong players and we can still defeat our opponents.”

The main host of the tournament is Pakistan but due to India refusal to travel to Pakistan some matches of the tournament would be played in Dubai.

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