Afghanistan came through and made it into the Cricket World Cup in the qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe last year and now the minnows will not only look to showcase their talents on the big stage, but also prove they deserve to be on it. Afghanistan are an emerging nation who have the ability to surprise and they have the perfect platform to do just that over the six weeks of this event.
Profile
Captain: Gulbadin Naib
Previous Best: Group Stage 2015
Key Players: Mohammad Nabi & Rashid Khan
Best Odds: 150/1 Betfair
Fixtures
June 1: vs Australia at Bristol (d/n)
June 4: vs Sri Lanka at Cardiff
June 8: vs New Zealand at Taunton (d/n)
June 15: vs South Africa at Cardiff (d/n)
June 18; vs England at Old Trafford
June 22: vs India at Hampshire Bowl
June 24: vs Bangladesh at Hampshire Bowl
June 29: vs Pakistan at Headingley
July 4: vs West Indies at Headingley
Squad
Gulbadin Naib (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Team Guide
If Afghanistan are going to be successful in this tournament you would think that it would be their bowlers who deliver any advances they make in the competition. They rely on three classy spinners who are known to cricket followers now with their time in T20 competitions around the world. If they can get stuck in with their seamers they might not be an easy side to play against.
They will still need to score runs though so it will be interesting to see how they go about their business in that regard over the course of the tournament but they showed in a warm up match against Pakistan that they are capable of upsetting the applecart and showing a few of the big teams up. They will be the neutrals team in a lot of matches which could help them as well.
Betting
Mohammad Shahzad is without a doubt the best batsman in this Afghanistan side but the problem I have taking him in their top batsman market is that he is very much all or nothing and bats in fifth gear at all times which is great when everything goes well but I like a little more assurance and solidity to my bets so I’m leaving the batting alone completely and focusing on the bowler market.
Clearly Rashid Khan is all the rage at the present time, which is totally understandable, but we have hit the time that teams are sitting on him and looking to cause carnage from the other bowlers. We’ve seen that happen a fair bit in tournaments recently and while Rashid might pick up wickets at the death, I’m not sure it will be enough to win this market. Rashid is around the even money mark yet Mohammad Nabi is 9/2 and at the prices I like the older man. Nabi is a very canny bowler. He might bowl at the beginning of the innings but with Rashid Khan around teams know they have to go after Rashid. Nabi warmed up with three decent scalps in a warm up game against Pakistan last week and he looks the value to land this market if teams continue to just play Rashid Khan out.
Tips
WON – Back M.Nabi Top Afghanistan Tournament Bowler for a 1/10 stake at 5.50 with Coral
Back him here:
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