Qualifying for a 10-team ICC Cricket World Cup may be a testimony to how far they've reached from once plying their trade in Division 5 of the associate competitions. But Afghanistan isn't thinking of just being there in England and Wales this year and find solace in the accomplished glory, said top-order batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi, who believes his team has what it takes to beat any major opponent on its day and create history.
"We are not the team anymore which just participates for the sake of it," Shahidi told Sportstar on Monday (March 18). "We can do well, but it’s not easy to play in big events like the World Cup."
"But still, we have the ability to do well. We should play to our strengths and work hard in the three months’ time that we have. We need to believe in our talent as well. Only putting in hard work won’t help, you also need confidence."
Shahidi gave an early reminder of his batting talent when he kept Ravichandran Ashwin at bay in Bangalore during Afghanistan's maiden Test match against India last year. And now he just played a very fine knock of 61 in the second innings versus Ireland to help his nation clinch victory for the very first time in the game's most special format.
"We all are very excited and happy that we bagged the first Test victory," he said. "It is a big achievement for us. We worked hard for this Test and all the players are happy that things have gone well. Back home in Afghanistan, people are happy and proud of our achievement."
On that stellar partnership with Rahmat Shah, who was awarded "Player-of-the-Match" for his twin half-centuries (98 and 76) in the game, Shahidi added, "Ireland scored 172 in the first innings, and it was a slow track. The ball was coming slow on to the bat and it was not easy to score runs. Our target was to build a partnership and do something well in the top-order, so he told me to take time and wait for the loose ball."
"Rahmat told me to stick around since it was an important match. That’s the only thing we did. After that, our captain Asghar Afghan played a good knock (of 67). The 42-run lead put them (Ireland) under pressure."
That two-day match and defeat at the hands of Ajinkya Rahane's team in only their first Test must have taught a lot to each and every Afghanistani player, something that even Shahidi admitted.
"Before that Test, I had played first-class cricket but of course, the bowler [sic] was different. The opponent was far more experienced than us, and I learned a lot of things from that Test," he said.
"The most important thing was that to be a better player, you need to work hard and stick around for long. I had made some mistakes in my batting, which I needed to work on. The (other) important thing was that I never played against a Test-playing team before, so it added to the pressure."
"How to adjust yourself in pressure situations and how to face bowlers were some of the things I learned. Also, I realised how to bring an overall improvement to your game. That way, I have been trying to overcome my weaknesses," Shahidi concluded.
