Performance speaks

The Afghanistan cricket team are undoubtedly a very young team. They have managed to create an impact on the cricketing world with their hard work and dedication. In such a short span of time they have got a few world-class players who are not only playing for their own country but also playing for different franchises like IPL and PSL. Everybody loves them very much. They are highly respected wherever they go. On Saturday they played their last ODI against Pakistan. They lost the series by 3-0. They will be disappointed with their result but they played very good cricket.

Playing against mighty Pakistan is not an easy task. Pakistan have great bowlers and batters in their side. I watched the third match. Afghanistan does not lack talent, they only need to develop the habit of winning a game. They should learn from other countries how to take the game till the end.

They need to re-evaluate their style of playing. They should have seen how Pakistani batters played. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stayed on the pitch and showed patience. First 30 overs Pakistan were very slow. At one point of time it looked that Pakistan might not be able to even cross 225 but they took the game very deep and managed to put up a very good score. At one point of time we felt Babar and Rizwan were struggling but they did the magic at the end. That’s why I feel Afghanistan team should play the same. I know not many teams can stand against the lethal attack of Pakistan but still Afghans can follow a method of approaching the game. From August 30, Asia Cup has started, let’s see how it goes. I am sure Afghanistan will do much better than they did against Pakistan.

Shahnawaz Ghazi,
By email