India Vs South Africa, March 2020: Indian Squad Announced

The Indian team for the three match ODI series against South Africa was announced recently. Bhubaneswar Kumar makes a return to the squad at the expense of  Shardhul Thakur. Bhuvi has been under injury on a continuous basis recently and India has missed his swinging deliveries in NewZealand .  Navdeep Saini has been retained in the squad and the youngster definitely deserve the chance. He needs to be groomed well and he can definitely reach great heights. Kedar Jhadav was dropped from the squad after some dismal performances off late. Mayank Agarwal too found the selection process going against his interests as he was dropped from the side. His fellow opener Prithwi Shaw however managed to cling to the side in the absence of injured Rohit Sharma. Prithwi needs to make it count and make a mark in this series.
Rishabh Pant has been given another chance. But with K L Rahul in great form with the bat and gloves, it needs to be seen whether Pant will find a place in the playing XI. Failure of Sanju Samson in the two matches in NewZealand has helped Pant to retain his spot. Shubhman Gill who was destined to warm the benches in the New Zealand series has been retained in the squad. The youngster may get a chance to prove his mettle.

Shubhman Gill

The fast bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya makes a comeback to the Indian team after an injury kept him out of action for months. It was expected that Pandya may play in the New Zealand series. But the team management was not satisfied with his fitness levels and has suggested for an extended rehab process. Pandya has made his presence felt with a 55 ball 158 in DY Patil T20 series. Batting for Reliance 1 the all-rounder reached his century in just 39 balls.

Hardik Pandya

India will miss the services of Rohit Sharma. The opener is nursing a calf injury and the selectors are not taking any risk. Shikhar Dhawan will have to shoulder some extra responsibility in his comeback match in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Shikhar Dhawan missed the NewZealand series with a shoulder injury. Maneesh Pandey at last gets an extended run. He has done decently well in the recent games and deserves the chance. Shreyas Iyer has scored a century in New Zealand further strengthening his position at no.4. Virat Kohli seems to be in a rare lean patch and the Indian captain is expected to bounce back in these familiar conditions.
South Africa are fresh from their 3-0 victory against the Australians and needs to be handled with care !

Indian squad :
Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Prithwi Shaw, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Maneesh Pandey,Shreyas Iyer,Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Jasprit Bumrah, Shubhman Gill

NewZealand Tour of India 2020: Team Squad

The Indian team for ODI and T20 for the NewZealand tour was announced recently. When India toured NZ in 2018 they won the ODI series 4-1 but lost the T20 series 2-1. In the fourth ODI held at Hamilton, India was bowled out for 92 runs by the Kiwi pacers. That was the only ODI match in the series where Indian batting was tested. Kiwis always appears in a different mindset in the T20s.In fact the Kiwis have always proved to be a thorn in flesh for the Indians in the T20 format. When they have met each other in 12 T20 NewZealand has emerged victorious in 8 of the outings. Meanwhile India managed just three victories and one of the game was abandoned.
India

T20 Squad:
Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma,Lokesh Rahul,Rishabh Pant, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur

There will be some swing and pace in the NewZealand conditions and Indian batsmen needs to adjust to these conditions. They need to play close to their body and adjust yo the swing. It will be an interesting contest between the Indian batsmen and NewZealand bowlers. Unlike the earlier days India now boast of a strong pace unit with the likes of Bumrah, Shami and Saini in the ranks. They can hit the pace mark of 140 km/hr consistently . Kuldeep and Chahal will have to bowl in those unfamiliar conditions which will be different from those subcontinent pitches. India which once boasted of some great spinners are now lacking that grit and superamacy in spin department. Lately we are not getting great quality spinners from the domestic level and that seems to be a bit surprising. Sanju Samson who was was with India A in NewZealand has been added in the squad and he can make use of his experience in those conditions. With Lokesh Rahul donning the gloves against NewZealand we have to wait and see weather Rishabh Pant or Sanju gets a chance. Shreyas Iyer might be tested with some short balls from the Kiwi pacers and he should be wary of their ploy. Shivam Dube has been included as an all rounder. But his bowling hasn't been utilised much and he lacks the technique of a poor batsman. If he has to be regular part of the team he needs to contribute more with the bat and ball.

SANJU SAMSON

ODI Squad:
Virat Kohli(c), Rohit Sharma,Lokesh Rahul,Rishabh Pant, Prithwi Shaw,Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kedar Jhadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur

PRITHVI SHAW

The ODI team looks almost the same as the T20 squad with 2 changes. Sanju Samson and Washington Sundar has been replaced by Prithwi Shah and Kedar Jhadav. Prithwi Shah is a much talented batsman and has scored a century and a half century in two tests that he played for India. He was banned for some months for some minor doping issues. He was also caught in some injuries and now he should be excited to make a come back. Kedar Jhadav has been chipping in with some good scores , but lately hasn't contributed much with the ball. If his form with the ball continues to dip the team management should think of replacing him with a technically better batsman or a better all rounder who can contribute equally with bat and ball. With the presence of Jadeja it will be ideal for India to go for a specialist batsman. Let's see how team India fares in the Kiwis homeland. 

Australia's Tour of India 2020: A Review

India once again proved to be too good to be beaten at their back yard. Australia lost the series 2-1 against India. But Australia gave India a tough time and made them think about their strategies, especially in the first ODI held at Wankhade Stadium.India lost the opening match by 10 wickets and the much hyped bowling department failed even to pick up one wicket. Australia chased down 255 in 37.4 overs without losing a single wicket. Much was expected from them in the upcoming matches after their overwhelming performance in the first ODI. But India had learned their lessons and managed to overcome Australia in the remaining two ODI and seal the series 2-1.
In the second ODI batting first India made 340/6, thanks to some good batting performances from KL Rahul,Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan. In reply Australia could only manage to get to 304 despite a well fought 98 from Steven Smith. KL Rahul was adjudged as the man of match for his 52 ball 80.In the final ODI held at Bangalore Australia batting first managed to make 286/9 riding upon century from Steven Smith. He was supported by an half century from Marnus Labushange. In the age of those hard hitting batsmen Labushange present himself as a technically sound batsman and guarantees to go a long way . Despite Australia being 230/4 in almost 40 overs they couldn't press the accelerator at the right time and could manage only some 60 odd runs in the final 10 overs. Australian batting line up is greatly dependent on Warner, Finch and Smith and lacks the great  depth that once they were known for. Spinners of Australia bowled decently well in the series. Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar kept their line tight and bowled in the right areas. Mitchell Starc was uncharacteristically expensive in the outing and it hurt Australia badly. India managed to reach the target in 47.3 overs with the help of 119 from Rohit Sharma and 89 from Virat Kohli.Shreyas Iyer made a quick fire 44. Rohit Sharma was adjudged as  man of the match in the final and Virat Kohli was the man of series.

K L RAHUL India's struggle with the Keeper option has a temperory solution in KL Rahul. The Karnataka batsman seems to be in great form with the bat and kept wickets decently well. The Indian captain hinted that Rahul might get an extended chance behind the wickets. It might help India in increasing their batting depth. Shreyas Iyer was not in great touch in the first two ODI and the Australians exposed his weakness against the short pitch deliveries. He needs to work on those weakness before boarding the plane to NewZealand , where the ball is known to swing and bounce. The speedster Navdeep Saini seems to be a good addition to the pace armoury. He has the pace and consistency. The spin department needs to up their antennae. Kuldeep and Jadeja did bowled well. But there were instances where Australian spinner seemed to be better than Indian bowlers in these subcontinent pitches. India needs to rethink about Rishabh Pant since he is continuously letting the team down by his rash shots and he lacks the consistency and the responsibility. Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Rohit Dharma contributed well with the bat and forms the batting nucleus for India in this series. Manish Pandey couldn't make an impact and it needs to be seen if he gets a long run chance. Pace bowling seems to be in safe hands with those decent performances from our speedsters.

SRILANKA CRICKET

Srilanka Cricket History

The journey of Srilankan cricket began with the creation of Colombo cricket club in 1832. Later in 1880 Ceylon National Cricket Team was formed.They started playing first class cricket in 1920's. Srilanka was granted associate member status by International Cricket Council in 1965. Later in 1972 the team was renamed as Srilanka. In 1975 Srilanka played their first World cup match against the mighty West Indies. West Indies won the match by 9 wickets. Lankans were admitted to the Test arena in 1981. Srilanka tasted their first ODI victory in 1979 against India.The case was same in Tests too. They had their first Test  victory against the same opponents in 1985.

Early Achievements

Srilanka cricket history boasts many great achievements. They won the World cup in 1996, held in the Indian sub continent. They were crowned as the champions in Asia cup in 1986,1997,2004,2008 and 2014. Srilanka has also done well in the T20 format too.Their first ever T20 international was played against England, which they won by 2 runs. Srilankans won the T20 World cup in 2014, when they defeated India in the finals by 6 wickets.njan
Srilanka played their first test match against England at Colombo in 1982. The team was lead by Bandula Warnapura. England won the match by 7 wickets. The first major achievement for Srilanka came in 1986. They won the Asia cup, defeating Pakistan in the finals by 5 wickets. Arjuna Ranatunga scored a match winning 57.

                                                                 Bandula Warnapura

In 1990's Srilankan Cricket moved forward and became a force to reckon. They achieved series victory (1-0) against New Zealand in 1992.Later they defeated England in a solitary test match of the series and won 1-0. Srilanka achieved first overseas test victory in 1995 when they defeated the Kiwis by 241 runs at Napier.This also marked their first overseas test series victory 1-0. The side was lead by Arjuna Ranatunga.

1996 World Cup

1996 was the year when Srilanka lifted the World cup.Australia and West Indies were unwilling to play in Srilanka due to security reasons. So Srilanka won these matches by walkover . Later they defeated Zimbabwe,India and Kenya. In quarter finals the island nation defeated England by 5 wickets. Sanath Jayasuriya score 82 off 44 deliveries. In semi final they overcame India at Eden gardens. The final was held at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.Australians were their opponents. Ranatunga won the toss and chose to bowl first. At one stage Australians were cruising at 137/1. But the Lankan bowlers pulled back things to make it 170/5. Australians were restricted to 241/7 in their quota of 50 overs. In reply Srilanka, well supported by a crafty century from Aravind de Silva(107*) and half century from Asanka Gurusinha(65) and a well made 47* from Arjuna Ranatunga , managed to chase down the target. Srilanka was well served by the likes of Arjuna Ranatunga, Aravinda deSilva,Muthiah Muralutharan,Chaminda Vaas,Sanath Jayasuriya and so on.

                                                        Sanath Jayasurya- The Matara Marauder

 In 1996 World cup Sanath Jayasuriya and wicket Keeper Romesh Kaluwitharna formed a deadly opening pair.It was them who introduced the idea of plundering maximum runs in first 15 overs, when fielding restrictions were on. Chaminda Vaas didn't had the pace of Wasim Akram or Allan Donald. But he was one of the best fast bowlers world has ever produced. It was the swing and length which made him so lethal. Vaas achieved a hatrick in the first 3 balls of the match against Bangladesh. Muthiah Muralitharan is considered as one of the greatest spinners in cricket. His records justifies the claim of the cricketing pundits. Muthiah too won many matches for Srilanka with his magical fingers.

With Sanath Jayasuriya,Aravinda De Silva,Arjuna Ranatunga,Hashan Tilakaratne,Asanka Gurusinha,Roshan Mahanama and Marvan Attapattu Srilanka had a formidable batting line up.

                                                                       Aravinda Desilva

Srilankan Cricket in  2000-20015

Srilanka reached 50 over World cup finals in 2007 and 2011. But they were defeated by Australia and India in each of the instances. In 2009 they were defeated by Pakistan in the T20 World cup. Tilakaratne Dilshan introduced the 'Dilscoop' shot in that year. He was adjudged as the Man of the Series in 2009 T20 World cup. Lasith Malinga with his slinging toe crushing yorkers, created problems even to the best batsmen in the world. Malinga could bowl those fiery yorkers at his will and he was nightmare in the death overs. He took 4 wickets in 4 consecutive deliveries against South Africa in 2007 World cup and again recorded a second hatrick in 2011 against Kenya. Malinga repeated the wonder of 4 wickets in 4 balls again in 2019 September against the Kiwis in a T20 match.

After the retirement of Aravinda Desilva, Ranatunga and Jayasuriya it was Mahela Jayawardane,Kumara Sangakkara and Tilakaratne Dilshan who formed the core of Lankan batting.
The stylish Jayawardane with his silken touch was a treat to watch. He was a great captain and lead from the front. In 2011 he scored a valiant century against India in the World cup finals.
Sangakkara is considered to be one of the greatest wicket keeper batsman in world cricket. He scored runs with grace and proved to be a thorn in flesh for many opponents. In 2015 World cup held in Australia, the wicket keeper batsman scored 4 consecutive centuries. The centuries came against Bangladesh, England, Australia and Scotland. Despite the great heroics of Sangakkara , Srilanka lost to South Africa in the quarter finals. In the match Srilanka was all out for 133 and the Protease chased down the target with the loss of just 1 wicket.

                                                                 Kumara Sangakkara

After the retirement of Jayawardane, Sangakkara and Dilshan Srilanka failed to find their suitable replacements and the team began to struggle.  In 2016 Asia cup their only victory came against the minnows UAE. In 2016 World T20, they lost to West Indies, England and South Africa. Their solitary win came against Afghanistan. In 2017 Srilanka managed to win just 2 out of 13 tests, 5 ODI out of 20 ODI and just 5 T20 out of 15 T20 matches. Bangladesh managed to draw the series  1-1 against Srilanka on their home soil.

Post 2016 Era

Srilanka tried to many captains in the span of 2 years. But none could find a solution to steady the ship. Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Dimesh Chandimal, Karunaratne  all found the going tough. Srilanka was whitewashed thrice in 2017 by South Africa, Pakistan and India. In the same year Zimbabwe toured the island nation and won the ODI series 3-2. In 2018 WT20 they lost to Bangladesh and Afghanistan and was eliminated.

Rangana Herath seemed to be the most effective bowler in tests during this period. But single hands can't win test matches on a regular basis and he lacked support from other ends.Srilanka failed to find enough replacements for the likes of Vaas and Muralitharan .In 2019 Srilanka showed some glimpses of their old glory when they defeated South Africa 2-0 in a two match test series in South Africa. They have achieved what most nations dreamt of achieving in recent years. Karunaratne was their captain. Kusal Perera scored an unbeaten 153* to register a thrilling 1 wicket  victory in first test of the series, when they chased down 304 in the fourth innings of the match. The second test match was won more comfortably. Srilanka won the match by 8 wickets . South Africa had scored 222 and 128 in the two innings. Srilanka in reply had scored 154 and 197/2 in the two innings. But they failed to replicate the heroics of test series in the T20 and ODI matches. They lost the the respective series on 2-0 and 5-0 margins.

2019 world cup in England was a forgettable experience for the islanders. They lost the matches against South Africa, India, New Zealand and Australia. Unfortunately their matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh were washed out. Srilanka managed to register victories against West Indies, Afghanistan and England. Their victory against the strong English side gave hopes to the Lankan fans all around the globe. It was an unexpected turn around, thanks to the heroics of the veteran fast bowler Lasith Malinga.

                                                                        Lasith Malinga

In 2019 July Srilanka managed to overpower Bangladesh in an ODI series and Srilanka needs to continue the streak. They have some quality batsmen in Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, Avishka Fernando, Karunaratne and so on. The bowling department also seems to be in decent arms. Isru Udana has some good length and cunning variations. Nuwan Pradeep, Kasun Rajitha, Dhananjaya all need to step up and take the nations hopes to greater heights.

SOUTH AFRICA CRICKET

Choking Tales of South Africa in World Cups

South Africa has always been a team to look out for in the World Cups. And most of the time they have managed to keep the fans' hopes alive, but unfortunately only up to the semi finals. At times they even managed to find ways to make an exit even without reaching the knock out stages. Despite being the firm favorites in many World cup campaigns, South Africa has never managed to get into the final, let alone winning the cup.

1992 World Cup

It was the first World cup campaign for South Africa. They were banned from International cricket in 1970. They had just returned to the International arena in 1991 and many cricket lovers didn't expect  South Africa to do wonders in the current World Cup. But they went on to surprise everyone winning 5 out of 8 matches. They qualified for the semi finals with ease. But the semifinal match turned out to be a tragedy for the resurgent South Africans. England made 252/6 in the first innings with Graeme Hick scoring 83. South Africa was on the course of victory with 23 required off 13 deliveries when the rain interrupted.Later when the rain had stopped South African target was revised as 21 required of 1 delivery! It paved way for the heart breaking exit for South Africa from their first ever World cup.

1996 World Cup

In 1992 South Africa surprised everyone by reaching the semifinals.But it was a different situation in 1996. Everyone expected them to reach the semifinals and even win the world cup. South Africa played up to the expectations winning all the 5 matches in the first round. The had beaten Pakistan,New Zealand,England,UAE and Netherlands.They topped the group. But they were eliminated in the quarter finals by the West Indies.West Indies made 264/8 in the first innings,thanks to a well made 111 off 94 deliveries by Brian Lara. In reply, South Africa could only manage 245, despite half centuries from Hudson and Cullinan.

                                                      Andrew Hudson

1999 World Cup

Just like in the previous edition of World Cup,South Africa managed to top the group in the first stage. They had won 4 out of the 5 matches. In the Super 6 stage they won 3 out of 5 matches. Another tragedy awaited them in the semi finals. Lance Klusener fought with all his heart in the semi finals against Australia,but the unfortunate run out of Allan Donald in the final over brought curtains to the South African dream. The match was tied with both teams scoring 213. Since Australia has defeated South Africa in the Super 6 stage , Australia went on to make into the finals.

                                                       Lance Klusener

2003 World Cup

It was the first World cup hosted by Africa. South Africa,Kenya and Zimbabwe jointly hosted the tournament. But, despite having the home advantage, it was the worst World cup performance of South Africa.They managed only 3 wins out of 6 matches in the preliminary stage and crashed out the tournament. They had defeated Bangladesh ,Kenya and Canada. They lost the matches against West Indies and New Zealand.The match against Srilanka was tied. Once again rain played spoil sport on South African dreams. South Africa needed to win the match against Srilanka to advance to the next stage.But some calculation mistakes by South Africa in the Duckwoth Lewis method cost them the game. Srilanka had scored 268/9 with Marvan Attapattu scoring a century in the first innings. Chasing the score was not easy in those damp conditions.But Hershelle Gibbs and Mark Boucher kept the hopes alive.Gibbs scored 73 and Boucher scored an unbeaten 45. The D/L method showed 229/6 as par score in 45 overs. South Africa scored 229/6 in 44.5 overs. they had 1 ball to spare. Last ball was defended off without scoring to prevent loss of any further wicket and South Africa rejoiced in the thought of a victory. But later it was clarified by the cricketing officials that they had to go par the score of 229 . That is they had to score 1 more run to win the match. So the match was tied and once again the cricketing world witnessed the heartbreaking exit of South Africa.

                                                  Herschelle Gibbs

2007 World Cup

2007 World cup held in the Caribbean islands witnessed the exit of India and Pakistan in the group stage after their shocking defeats against Bangladesh and Ireland respectively. South Africa qualified for the Super 8 stage winning 2 off their 3 matches. They were the 4th team to qualify to the semifinals. But once again they lost the semi finals, and this time to the Australians. South Africa could only manage 149 in the first innings and Australia chased down the target rather easily.

2011 World Cup

In 2011 too they went past the group stage. They won 5 of the 6 matches. South Africa was the only team to beat India in the tournament. But once again they choked in the knock out stage. They lost in the quarter finals against the Kiwis. Chasing 222 they were all out for 172. Interestingly it was under a South African coach, Gary Kirsten , India lifted their world cup in 2011.

2015 World Cup

In the group stage they won 4 out of 6 games and were second in their group. Nevertheless, they advanced to the quarterfinals and defeated the 2011 finalists Srilanka. But just like the previous edition, Kiwis proved to be a thorn in flesh for the South Africans. The Black caps managed to defeat Proteas and advance to the finals for the first time in the world cup history. Batting first, South Africa posted 281/5 with Duplessi and AB de-Villers scoring half centuries.David Miller made a quick fire 18 ball 49. New Zealand target was revised to 298 in 43 overs by D/L method. New Zealand chased down the target with 1 ball to spare riding on half centuries  from Grant Elliott 84(73), McCullum 59(26) and Corey Anderson 58(57).

2019 World Cup

World cup 2019 was  a forgettable experience for the Rainbow nation. They lost against England, Bangladesh,India,New Zealand and Pakistan. The consoling victories came against Afghanistan, Srilanka and Australia. The match against West Indies was called off due to rain. South Africa faced injury problems for their premier players like Dale Steyn and Ngidi. Captain Duplessi admitted that their fast bowler Kagiso Rabada was too tired because of his busy schedule and IPL matches just ahead of the world cup. Aiden Markram who had a wonderful domestic season plundering runs throughout the season, was expected to make most of the given opportunity.But without any reason he failed to make any impact in the World cup. South Africa lacked a strong middle order. David Miller couldn't convert his starts into big scores. Much was depended on Faf Duplessi ,Quinton deKock and Hashim Amla. Amla didn't look his self in the initial stages of the tournament and that cost them dearly. In the later satges he regained his touch, but that was too late for the cause of South Africa.

Afghanistan Cricket

Afghanistan Cricket History

The name Afghanistan brings into our mind images of a war torn nation with many radical groups fighting for power and supremacy. Afghanistan also faced some foreign invasions from USSR and USA later. But the nation is slowly coming back to the much cherished prosperity. Cricket has played a great role in bringing some solace for these people. Cricket is a bonding force for these people who are otherwise divided in terms of their caste, creed and politics. 

Evolution of Afghanistan Cricket

Cricket began to creep into Afghan blood when they were in Pakistan refuge camps due to Soviet invasion. You can see some similarity in the style of cricket in Afghanistan to that of Pakistan due to the very same reason. Even after returning from refugee camps, these Afghan boys didn't let cricket go from their heart and blood. Slowly it gained popularity across the nation. The parents of these young boys were initially opposed to the idea of cricket as they feared that their sons wont earn much by going after this silly game. But later the scenario changed. Taliban government was against the sport and they banned cricket. But later they removed the ban and even sought help from Pakistan to nurture the game. Taj Malik was the man behind developing the game in Afghanistan. He gave coaching to the raw talent and developed them into a team. Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) was formed in 1995. Nawroz Mangal was their first cricket team captain for international games.

                                                                   Nawroz Mangal

Introduction to the International Arena

Afghanistan played their first ODI against Scotland which they won by 89 runs. Their introduction to T20 was not so smooth as they lost the match to Ireland. But it was way back in 2010 and Afghanistan team looks a really different outfit now. Ireland was defeated in T20 and ODI series by Afghanistan in the recently concluded tournament which was held at Dehradun in India in 2019.

Afghanistan played their first test against India at Bangalore in 2018. But it was a forgettable performance and they were no match for the mighty Indians. But their test membership was a great step towards the future. Afghanistan became an affiliate member of ICC in 2001. It gained membership of Asian Cricket Council in 2003. Slowly and steadily Afghanistan cricket grew. In 2010, Afghanistan qualified for their first T20 world cup. It was just a start and they had nothing to boast about their performance in the tournament. In 2016 T20 world cup, they improved their performance and reached upto the super 10 level.

Afghanistan reached the 50 over world cup stage in 2015. Their first game was against Bangladesh in the Australian Capital, Canberra. Afghanistan registered their first world cup win again Scotland. They were the champion in world cup qualifier in 2018 and a set to lock horns with the opponents in the world cup 2019 to be held at England and Wales. 

Afghanistan Cricket Achievements 

Interestingly Afghanistan holds the record for the highest T20 score. They scored 278/3 against Ireland at Dehradun in February 2019. Afghanistan had also other moments of glory too. They had defeated Zimbabwe when they toured the African nation in 2015. West Indies were tied 1-1 in an ODI series later. Sri Lanka too tasted defeats at their hands when the island nation was bowled out for 158 against 249 made by Afghanistan. Afghanistan attracted world attention when the held India for a draw in Asia Cup 2018. Mohammed Shehzad was the hero of the match when he scored a gritty 124.

Afghanistan Cricket Today

Afghanistan have never played an international match in their home. Sharjah stadium was selected as their home ground for international matches. As per agreement with BCCI, Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik sports complex in Noida was also opted as home ground for them. Currently work is going on to build cricket stadiums in Afghanistan. They have almost completed the work of Kabul national cricket stadium, Ghazi Amanullah International stadium and many more are waiting for the final completion works.

                             Afghan spinners Rashid Khan(left) and Mohammed Nabi(right)

                                              along with Shikhar Dhawan during IPL

Currently many Afghan players find themselves picked by T20 Premier Leagues across the world. Some of the players have made their way to the T20 clubs in India, Australia, Pakistan and so on. Among all, Afghanistan spinners like Mohammed Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman seems to be of greatest demand. These Afghan spinners are expected to bring some glory to the nation when they participate in their second 50 over world cup to be played in England and Wales. The Afghan batsmen too have some quality and the once minnows of the game are expected to display some tough cricket for their opponents.