4 min read
Introduction
At the face of it, Afghanistan seems like a well-balanced team integrated by the isolated strengths in the various departments. To further elaborate that, take for example Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman; both excellent spinners on their own but in tandem, one doesn’t get a feeling of say Trent Boult and Tim Southee or Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal. As Afghanistan gears up to play the big boys of cricket, it will be far-fetched to expect them to do wonders but it’ll be to think of them as “easy” opponents.
Mihir’s SWOT Analysis
strengths
- Afghanistan is well-balanced team with he core of their first-choice players having global experience with them, having played in various T20 leagues and in the previous World Cup as well.
- Afghanistan is a batting-heavy side which could be leveraged by them to make maximum use of batting-friendly conditions and mask the inexperience of the bowling lineup.
- There is a good balance between experience and youth in the side, which will be a great catalyst in the transition of the team.
weaknesses
- More often than not, the batsmen have been guilty of being consistent with inconsistency.
- When it comes to their fast-bowling department, not only is it a tad-bit inexperienced but I also lacks a certain amount of variety in it.
opportunities
- I am going to be the devil’s advocate here – It is a good thing that the chief selector of Afghanistan is keeping a 2023-vision in mind. Now, whether the captaincy switch is right or wrong will be determined by passing time, all I can say that this World Cup is perfect opportunity for learnings and exposure which could be streamlined to better performances in the coming future.
- Afghanistan get to play 9 matches against teams ranked above them. Not only that, each of these teams will be at their competitive best and the performance of Afghanistan will directly reflect their skills.
threats
- Captaincy change could take be a psychological threat to the players, with some of them having voiced concerns about the switch. Whether the impact is apparent or not remains to be seen though.
- The biggest threat that looms on Afghanistan is if they end up playing banal quality of cricket or fail to punch a little bit above their weight (something they are known for), there could potentially be a downfall which could be difficult to arrest.
key player
Mohammad Shahzad –> What is common these days in limited overs is to see sides fielding a contrasting pair of openers – one is of the type “all-guns-blazing” and the other is of the “anchor-holding” type. Mohammad Shahzad of Afghanistan is the former, and with conditions like those in England, we can expect his role to be even more important. His ability to provide an impetus to the innings at the top of the order (or not) will be instrumental in determining the overall batting performance of the team.
prediction
I don’t assign much hopes to Afghanistan and understandably so. For Afghanistan though, it will be about keeping 1 eye on the present and 1 eye on the future.
Roster
Schedule
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