Having suffered yet another collapse in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 against South Africa on Saturday, 15th June, Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib has urged his batsmen to control their nerves and keep calm in the middle to play 50-full overs to raise their rank in the tournament. 

Put into bat under cloudy skies, Afghanistan made a great start, brilliantly negotiating the new ball, and even surviving Kagiso Rabada’s natural seam and probing length, but after a second rain delay, they lost five wickets for eight runs, eventually lost the World Cup game by 9-wickets to South Africa. 

In the ongoing World Cup 2019, a sudden collapse is a huge worry for Afghanistan, and Naib asked his batsmen to control their nerves and take responsibility to win matches in the tournament.  

After the match, Naib told media, “Every time I’m saying to the batsman, control your nerves. We need to calm cricket in the middle. Everyone is trying to put a score on the board so we have an opportunity to defend it.” 

The captain continued, “We did not play a 50-over game because we did not last. We have played a lot of cricket in the last few years but there is pressure on the team. We lost the toss so we did not take responsibility enough and that was the difference.” 

(With PTI Inputs)