Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz has had a mixed T20 World Cup 2024 so far, registering scores of 76, 80, 11 and 0 in Group C matches against Uganada, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and the West Indies respectively.
Now that the tournament has moved to the Super 8 round, the expectations will be more from Gurbaz and his first assignment will not be easy by any means.
On Thursday (June 20), Afghanistan will be up against the star-studded Indian team in a Super 8 match in Barbados.
However, Gurbaz is not nervous by the prospect of facing Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya. In fact, he is confident of hitting them out of the park if the Indian pacers bowl it his area.
"Honestly, my target is not just Jasprit Bumrah. I will look to target all (Indian) bowlers there are five bowlers who generally bowl and I have to tackle them. It's just a battle against Bumrah. Maybe another bowler could get me out. But yes, If I get a chance to hit him (Bumrah), let's go for it. It could be Bumrah, Arshdeep or Siraj. If anyone bowls in my area, then I'll hit them. Either I'll hit them or I will get out," Gurbaz told ICC before the match.
This is the first time Afghanistan have advanced to the second round of a T20 World Cup. Speaking on the same line, Gurbaz said they are no longer a pushover and believe to win the global events.
"We've played in the World Cups before, but there's a huge difference (this time). Previously, our mindset was just to participate in the World Cup. But now our mindset is that we should go and be the champions. There's no pressure on us to be champions. We don't have those expectations. But we're taking it one game at a time. Our focussed on that and hope we achieve our goals and qualify for the semi-final first and then to the final," the wicketkeeper-batter stated.
Afghanistan qualified for the Super 8s by beating New Zealand, PNG, and Uganda. While Afghanistan lost to the West Indies in their last group-stage game, the Rashid Khan-led side has shown enough promise in this tournament to give any team a run for their money.
