Rashid was also optimistic of Afghanistan's chances in spin friendly conditions in the UAE.
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has on Monday (October 18), reckoned that the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 should be “a spinners' World Cup” since the current conditions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are assisting the spinners well.
Rashid, who recently played for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2021), believes that the conditions in the UAE for the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 will be similar to IPL 2021 and said the spinners will play a big role in team’s success in the global event.
Afghanistan will open its T20 World Cup 2021 campaign against one of the qualifying teams on October 25 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium and Rashid said his team can beat any side if the batters bat well in the tournament in the UAE having one of the string spin attacks at the rank.
Rashid told The Cricket Monthly: “Conditions here are always good for spinners and it should be a spinners' World Cup. Doesn't matter how wickets are prepared here, it is always helpful for the spinners. Spinners will play a huge role in this World Cup.”
The spinner further added, “As we have seen in the IPL, spinners have brought back their team in the game. I feel that will be the same in the World Cup as well. The best spinners will bring their team back in the game and win it.”
He signed off by saying, “As long as you have a good total, if it is a slow track, skiddy, as a spinner it is very, very helpful because you can show your skills there and you can get the wickets. In this World Cup, if you bat well, we [Afghanistan] can beat any side.”
Here’s the Afghanistan squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2021 –
Mohammad Nabi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmed Malik, Naveen ul Haq
Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup schedule is as follows –
October 25, 2021: vs. Qualifier (B1), Sharjah
October 29, 2021: vs. Pakistan, Dubai
October 31, 2021: vs. Qualifier (A2), Abu Dhabi
November 3, 2021: vs. India, Abu Dhabi
November 7: vs. New Zealand, Abu Dhabi
(With ANI Inputs)