Afghanistan will be playing in their fourth T20 World Cup this year and they will be hoping to improve significantly on their first three efforts which has seen them win one match in seven and eliminated in round one on all three occasions.
Form
Although it has been largely against associate opposition Afghanistan’s form has been pretty good in recent times although they suffered a blip in qualifying for the Asia Cup which denied them some match practice against the big nations ahead of the tournament.
That blip continued a little trend where they fail to deliver when the big stage approaches and that would be a concern for their backers and followers ahead of their qualifying group where they take on Zimbabwe, Scotland and Hong Kong.
Key men
Mohammad Shahzad was dropped on fitness grounds in the lead up to the 2015 50 over World Cup but he has been placed back at the top of the batting for this tournament and is likely to possess the biggest threat with the willow. He averages 29.35 in this format of the game internationally and has a First-class average of over 50 so he’s a proper player. He’ll need to score well if Afghanistan are to make the main draw
Dawlat Zadran is the leading wicket taker for Afghanistan in this format of the game and he was in good form in recent matches against Zimbabwe which could be significant if their qualifying group is decided on the match between the two. He is a quick bowler who bowls at the key times in the innings and will lead the attack in this tournament.
Fixtures
Tues Mar 8 – Group B: Afghanistan vs Scotland (Nagpur)
Thurs Mar 10 – Group B: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong (Nagpur)
Sat Mar 12 – Group B: Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe (Nagpur)
Stats
Overall T20I record: P41 W25 L16
Last 10 results (most recent last): WWLWWWWLWW
Record vs group opponents:
Vs Zimbabwe: P4 W4 L0
Vs Scotland: P5 W5 L0
Vs Hong Kong: P4 W2 L2
Record batting first: P23 W14 L9
Record batting second: P18 W11 L7
Odds
Tournament odds: 505/1 (NetBet)
Group B odds: 5/4 (Stan James)
Team bets
I’m not going to side with the key men throughout this tournament but I do think any success Afghanistan have in this competition will centre around their two main men.
Mohammad Shahzad is going to be an important weapon at the top of the order. I think you want to open the batting in this tournament to be successful as when the spinners come on it is going to get difficult to score regularly.
The fact that Shahzad has the power to hit over the top early on has to be a positive and his century in this format against Zimbabwe at the start of the year should have him full of confidence going into this event. There are a couple of young players who could do some damage but over the three games or more if they qualify I think Shahzad is the safe bet.
Dawlat Zadran is not only Afghanistan’s leading wicket taker in this format of the game but he’s the spearhead too and with doubts about how fit Hamid Hassan can stay I’m going to take Zadran here.
Zadran took 10 wickets in the four T20s with Zimbabwe either side of Christmas and that is a positive and he bowled as well as anyone in the Asia Cup qualifying event. Mohammad Nabi could go well initially in this tournament but if Afghanistan qualify I would expect better players to keep him quiet so given when Zadran is going to bowl he looks a solid bet here.
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Back D.Zawlan Top Afghanistan Tournament Bowler for a 1.5/10 stake at 3.75 with Ladbrokes
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