Absence of big names in the St Lucia Zouks side pushed Mohammad Nabi to adjust himself to a senior pro's role within the set-up.
The veteran Afghanistan off-spinner has used all his experience and ability in ensuring he lives upto the extra responsibility during the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020.
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Nabi has sent down his overs at an economy rate of just 4.8, scored them at a strike-rate of 144.58 and is a big reason why Zouks are second in the points table after six matches.
"There are not big star players, but we have quality good youngsters," Nabi told CricketNext. "We have some senior players and experience as well, and we'll share the experience with the youngsters and hopefully we'll try our best and bring the team to the semifinals."
"As a senior player, I see my role as not just a player but we try our best to share our experiences with the youngsters during the game and also throughout the tournament. As a senior player, I have to perform for the team as well, both as a batsman and a bowler," he added.
Not long from now, Nabi will be playing another domestic T20 league at the other side of the globe for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). The 35-year-old says CPL 2020 has been ideal preparation after an extended break amid COVID-19 pandemic for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in UAE, starting September 19.
"It's been a long time since we played cricket," he said. "In the last four months, we didn't play any cricket. We just had training sessions at home, after one month (of staying at home) we went for training and had a few knocks, but it wasn't a proper nets either."
"Now we're in CPL and I'm really excited to be playing in CPL this time. We'll try our best to play good cricket and enjoy our cricket. Playing for Zouks will really help in the upcoming matches (after the CPL). I've got the IPL for me after this, this will be a proper preparation for it."
With the IPL 2020 looming large, the only thing Nabi is wary and not excited for is the need to be in another bio-secure bubble in the gulf.
"The bio bubble is very tough," he said. "Of course, the situation from the last few months is such that we quarantined 14 days for the CPL. And from here into the IPL, we'll still be quarantined there as well. It is tough, yeah but hopefully we remain safe."
But that, he deep down realises, is still a minor difficulty in comparison to what Nabi, being an Afghani, has seen over the years and did even earlier this year when the lockdown period felt painfully long.
"It was a big lesson for everyone, not just for me. Because without cricket, we are nothing," he said. "We just stay at home and we did nothing. I just did my charity work, luckily I got a lot of time for my charity. I did a lot for my country and poor people there. For cricketers, without cricket there is nothing in life. So it was a big lesson for everyone."
Individually, Nabi, Rashid Khan & co have returned to on-field action. The same, however, isn't true yet for the Afghanistan team, which has had its international fixture-list significantly affected.
"Every team has been disturbed by COVID-19, especially Afghanistan has been disturbed a lot. Because we missed the Asia Cup and a few series against Ireland apart from the (T20) World Cup, and we have to see what happens to the Test against Australia," said Nabi.
"But hopefully it means we have a lot of cricket next year (2021) as a national duty. We are focusing on that as well, we'll try our best to perform when we get the opportunity and take Afghan cricket forward. We also have the ODI World Cup Super League so we expect a lot of matches from next year," he concluded.
