Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi defended his decision to bring his front-line spinner, Rashid Khan, into the attack after 10 overs against Pakistan after his team’s 5-wicket loss to Men in Green on Friday (October 29) in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
Defending a tricky 148 in Dubai, Afghanistan captain brought Rashid into the attack only in the 11th over with Pakistan needing just 76 runs from 60 balls, and the star leg-spinner did his job brilliantly, taking 2 wickets, but couldn’t save Afghanistan from losing the game by five wickets.
While many felt Rashid should have bowled earlier in the match, as the spinner could have made difference in the game, but Nabi has insisted that it wasn’t too late to introduce him after 10 overs.
Nabi said at the post-match media interaction: “I think it’s not too late after 10 overs. He bowled really well, and he restricted them quite well. That’s why at the end they have 12 balls for 24 runs. It meant he restricted them quite well.”
Rashid had put Pakistan in a precarious position in the match, but Asif Ali managed to perfectly finish the game for the Men in Green by smashing four sixes in an over to take the side to a five-wicket win over Afghanistan and book a place in the semi-finals.
The skipper added, “Pakistan finished the game well at the end. But our boys played really well. We threw early wickets, and then we put a decent total on the board. We restricted them very tight until the 19th over. In the end, Pakistan won the game. That’s a part of cricket.”
Meanwhile, Nabi also urged Afghanistan fans to enter the stadiums through the proper process after the fans tried to climb the fence of the stadium before the security staff intervened. He added, “For the Afghan fans, please buy a ticket and come to the stadium. Don’t repeat again. This is not good.”
Following the loss to Pakistan, Afghanistan will face tougher challenges to qualify for the semi-finals as they are now set to face India and New Zealand in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Nabi said, “There are a lot of positive things in these games. We take the positive things and we have three more games, inshallah we’ll do well, and now our team is in high morale.”
On being asked about Afghanistan’s diplomatic relation with Pakistan after the Taliban’s takeover, the skipper said, “I think we can just stick to cricket, leaving out the situation. It will be better. We are here for the World Cup and we have come full of confidence and preparation.”
He concluded, “It’s not a cricket question.”
(With PTI Inputs)
