THERE’S NO NEED FOR SPLIT CAPTAINCY, SAYS GANGULY
First-ever full series between the two teams to witness three ODIs, three Twenty20s and one-off Test from Wednesday
LUCKNOW : Afghanistan seem to have made up their mind to test the batting skills of the West Indies against spin on a red soil pitch in an one-off practice match at the Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Cricket (Ekana) Stadium here on Monday.
The practice match will be played two days before the OneDay International series opener at the same venue on Wednesday. Besides three ODIs, the series includes three T20 games and a one-off Test.
The stadium has nine pitches, four of them made of black soil. Among them, pitch no. 3 has a reddish tinge and seems ready to challenge the West Indies big hitters like skipper Kieron Pollard, especially as the stadium has an 80-yard boundary.
On the other hand, the Caribbean side looks eager to take on the Afghan spinners, especially skipper Rashid Khan, who is capable of changing the complexion of the game at any time.
“We are not worried about Pollard and other big hitters in the West Indies side. We are focused on our strength. I am also focused on my bowling. I know where to bowl,” Rashid Khan said on Sunday.
“As an emerging side in world cricket, we are looking for a better performance against West Indies in this series. The practice match would allow us to test our strength as well as the rivals’ weaknesses,” he said.
“I have told the boys to stick to their game plan and not bother about the opponent. Undoubtedly, they are a strong side, but we are capable of challenging them.”
He also said playing against the big nations over the next four years would improve Afghanistan’s performance in the next 50- overs-a-side World Cup.
“We didn’t have the experience of playing against big teams before the World Cup in England this year. That’s why we lost all our nine matches, including some close ties. But it is not going to be the case the next time as we have plans to prepare well, especially by playing against big teams on a regular basis over the next four years.”
Coach Lance Klusener too sounded confident of his team doing well against West Indies in the series.
“We do lack a big pool of players for different formats of the game, but it has taught the Afghan players to shift gears quite smartly as per the format,” he said.
“They are an energetic bunch of cricketers and I am enjoying working with them,” the former South African all-rounder said, adding, “I am thankful to West Indies coach Phil Simmons, who made this Afghan team quite a strong side before switching his role recently, and now it’s my turn to take them forward. Coaching has now become a mind game, and whosoever applies it well with the support of technical skills, he wins.”
Pollard said the series was quite important for building the West Indies side for future.
Playing simple cricket with enthusiasm remained his priority, he said, adding the Caribbean
players had done their home work well to handle the Afghanistan spin attack.
“Hosts have some good spinners to pose a challenge to us, but we have prepared to tackle them. There are some good youngsters in the side, and they are raring to go. Conditions here are altogether different one. Only after the practice match on Monday we will asses our planning.”
Coach Simmons too praised the Afghan side. He said playing in Indian conditions on regular basis, and especially Pollard enjoying his stint with Mumbai Indians in the IPL was a big plus for his side.
“We are here to play our best possible cricket against the hosts and I am sure it would be quite interesting.”
The day/night practice match starts at 2pm on Monday.