Afghanistan T20 teams go for top picks
UAE paceman Naveed roped in by Kandahar squad
All eyes will be on Bangladesh’s star batsman Mohammad Mahmudullah during the 18th Unimoni Asia Cup. He has the honour of being the first Bangladeshi to score a century in the ICC Cricket World Cup and has recently won many matches against formidable teams through his sterling performances. Mahmudullah is keen to produce a good show and guide Bangladesh to their first Asia Cup title triumph.
Speaking to Gulf News after training at the ICC Academy, he said: “We have been the finalists in 2014 and 2016 Asia Cup. We will carry the confidence from our performance from the recent Asia Cups into this tournament. Having said that, as all the teams are preparing so well, we have to be at our best from our first game.”
It was Mahmudullah’s knock of 103 against England in the 2015 World Cup at Adelaide that gave Bangladesh a stunning 15-run victory. When asked about his ability to play match-winnings knocks, he said, “I am trying to keep things better for me individually and try and improve my game day by day.”
Mahmudullah excels as an offspinner and has bagged 70 wickets from his 156 ODIs and has 40 wickets from 39 Tests to prove he is an effective all-rounder. When asked about how much importance he gives to being an all-rounder, he said, “I prefer to be a batting all-rounder. In fact, I prefer my batting first, then comes my bowling. I always try and maintain both my skills because it is beneficial for a team like ours to win matches. I know I have to contribute with the bat and ball as well, especially with some very talented players coming up.”
It is against Sri Lanka, whom Bangladesh play in the first match of the Asia Cup on Saturday, that he made his ODI debut. His ability ■ to score fast gave him the label of a limited-overs specialist. So how will it be to face the country he made his debut against in the first match in Dubai? “We have some good past memories from few months back against Sri Lanka,” he said. “I feel Sri Lanka is a very good team and they are playing very good cricket at the moment, so we have to be at our best to beat them.”
Keep it simple
Interestingly, it is as a bowler that Mahmudullah sparkled in his Test debut match. He produced a threewicket spell in the first innings and a five-wicket haul in the second innings to return with an eight wicket haul to ensure Bangladesh a 95-run win over West Indies at Kingstown in 2009.
Mahmudullah enjoys playing the match winner. “It always feels good to contribute for the team. If the team is winning through my contribution, it is even better,” he added. “I like to keep things simple and contribute for the team as much as I can.”
Mahmudullah wants Bangladesh fans in the UAE to come out in large numbers and cheer for his team. “Hopefully we will get a big crowd as plenty of Bangladeshis live here. So, hopefully, they will come and support us and we are going to deliver some good results for them.” ■
The stage is set for the Afghanistan Premier League (APLT20), to be held from October 5-23, with the five franchises reaching out for outstanding international cricketers in the players’ draft on Monday night. Each team selected 17 to 20 players which include five overseas players and one player from an associate country.
The Paktia line-up has Shahid Afridi, the hero of many international matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, where the tournament will be held. His franchise picked top internationals stars like Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera and South Africa’s Cameron Delport. The others are Chris Jordan, Faheem Ashraf, Luke Wright and Calum MacLeod.
Kabul, which has Afghanistan’s star and leg spinner Rashid Khan as icon, got New Zealand’s Luke Ronchi, South Africa’s Colin Ingram and Pakistan’s Sohail Tanvir. The others are Laurie Evans and Wayne Parnell.
The Twenty20 star player Chris Gayle, who is the icon of Balkh squad, picked England’s Twenty20 specialist Ravi Bopara, and Pakistan’s tall pacer Mohammad Irfan and wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal. Also in the squad will be Ben Laughlin and Colin Munro.
Nangarhar, which has West Indies star and all-rounder Andre Russell as icon, picked Bangladesh’s hard-hitting opener Tamim Iqbal as well as their star batsman Mushfiqur Rahim. Pakistan’s star all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez, who couldn’t find a place in the Pakistan team for the Asia Cup, is in this squad. The others are Ben Cutting, Mitchell McClenaghan and Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane.
Kandahar, which has New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum as icon, picked Pakistan pacer Wahab Riaz and England’s Sam Billings. The other stars are Paul Stirling, Tymal Mills and Iftikhar Ahmad.
UAE pacer Mohammad Naveed will play for this squad.
Speaking to Gulf News, Shafiqullah Stanikzai, the Chief Executive Officer of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, said, “APL will be one of the big Twenty20 franchise leagues in the world. The league will be a platform for local and international players to showcase their talent through the 23 matches of the tournament.”
Commenting on the draft, Afridi said, “I am looking forward to playing in this league and representing Paktia. Congratulations to Afghanistan Cricket officials on launching their T20 league.”
Rashid Khan expressed his delight on playing in the league and said, “Very excited to have been picked by Kabul to play in the inaugural edition.”
I am trying to keep things better for me individually and try and improve my game day by day … I prefer to be a batting all-rounder.” Mohammad Mahmudullah » Bangladesh star player