Afghan skipper cautions India ahead of Test debut
Fresh from their 3-0 whitewash of Bangladesh in the just-concluded T20 series, an upbeat Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai cautioned India ahead of the one-off Test at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore from June 14.
Newly-promoted Afghanistan will make their Test debut against top-ranked India and Stanikzai is confident that the recent drubbing of Bangladesh has lifted the morale of the side, despite the win coming in the shortest format of the game.
“Great preparation for the Test match against India -- the morale is high,” the skipper said after his side pipped Bangladesh by one run in the third and final T20I here on Thursday.
“Last couple of years we have performed well. We want to achieve it for Afghanistan. You see the batsmen, bowlers are all in good form.”
Leg-spinner Rashid Khan, the architect of Afghanistan’s 3-0 whitewash of Bangladesh, might well be the frontman in Bengaluru and he is looking forward to the big occasion.
“Full credit to my fitness -- if you’re fit, you can deliver in any department; it doesn’t matter
DEHRADUN:
whether I’m playing in league cricket or the national team, I just want to enjoy,” he said.
RASHID STAYS NO 1
: Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan consolidated his position at the top of the ICC T20 Player Rankings after returning with 12 wickets from the T20 series against Bangladesh.
The 19-year-old wonder spinner has gained 54 points to finish with 813 points, 80 more than Shadab Khan of Pakistan.
His compatriots, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have also made remarkable improvements in the ICC T20I Player Rankings after playing important parts in a 3-0 defeat of Bangladesh. Rashid, who was named ICC’s Associate Player of the Year for 2017, touched a career-high rating of 816 points after four for 12 in second match.
DUBAI