ICC T20 World Cup 2022: Afghanistan’s strengths and weaknesses

Afghanistan Strengths and Weaknesses

The ICC T20 World Cup 2022 is just around the corner and in this article, we will discuss how Team Afghanistan is likely to perform. And analyse Afghanistan strengths and weaknesses and their possibility to win the mega event.

Afghanistan is the one team in past few years that has showed the world what they can deliver on their given day, and what they did in the recently completed Asia Cup 2022 once again proved their mettle in front of the other sides.

Afghanistan in Asia Cup 2022

They started their Asia Cup campaign by beating Sri Lanka first in the tournament opener by 8 wickets in a one sided match. Then defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets in the third game of the tournament to become the first to qualify for the Super four stage.

They, however, didn’t managed to qualify for the finals of the Asia Cup 2022, but their performance during the Super Four round won many hearts and a lot of appreciation for them.

During their first encounter against Sri Lanka again, they set a 176 target in front of Lanka side to chase and their bowers tried their best and took the game into a last-over thriller, which they lost.

In their second game against Pakistan, they performed even better as their bowlers almost won the game for the side. That was again a last-over thriller, Pakistan required 11 off the final over with only a wicket left and Afghani players started their celebration as they have won the game but the young Naseem Shah of two-time Asia Cup champions came out of syllabus for everyone and they lost the game by 1 wicket.

Match winners in Afghanistan Cricket Team 

There are many match winners in the side specially the most recognized and loved cricketers Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi. While the presence of Najibullah Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaaz added more weight to the side’s strength.

Talking about their performance since the last year’s World Cup, then we witnessed a bit of inconsistency with the side. During their outing against Bangladesh, they lost the ODI series. But levelled the T20 and maintained their dominance in the shortest format of the game. While against Zimbabwe they defeated them with pure dominance in both one-dayer’s and T20IS.

But, the lost against Ireland by 3-2 in the 5 match T20Is series was a bit shock for not only them but for the viewers as well, who started believing that this team can do well against big teams.

This is hugely because team lacks the experienced performers in the side and mostly depend on their 3-4 players in every match, especially Rashid, Nabi and Gurbaaz.

Afghanistan strengths and weaknesses 

Strengths:

1. The biggest strength of the Afghanistan cricket team is the one and only Rashid Khan. His name is enough to give headache to the opposition. Teams always make plans to score runs against every bowlers expect Rashid, and that is what he earned through his impressive bowling.
2. Mohammad Nabi is a sound captain and an extra ordinary all-rounder that only boost the team’s confidence.
3. Rahmnullah Gurbaaz, the 20-year-old is a young and talented guy that holds the ability to change the game at any team with his destructive batting at the top of the order. His exploits is crucial up the order for the team to put up a strong total on board and he delivered most of times.

Weaknesses:

1. There will be too much pressure on the key players, which is one thing that hurts the most if they failed to advance from Super 12 stage.
2. Consistency in batting line-up will be another factor the team should work on.
3. Apart from Rashid and Nabi, the conditions in Australia may not be suitable and it can create problems for the rising team in the tournament.

Matchup Reviews: Predicted Wins and Losses for ICC T20 World Cup 2022

Afghanistan is in a group where they have less chances to qualify for the semis. But you cannot simply underestimate the Afghanistan side. And that is what they achieved with their solid performances in the past. Though hard to digest for some, but they hold the potential to turn the tables around against any of the teams be it England or New Zealand. But to beat Australia in Australia will be a tough task not the Afghan’s team but for the no.1 team in the world as well.

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