‘It's difficult, they are not well prepared' - Asghar Afghan on Afghanistan’s chances to qualify for T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals

Former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan expressed his stance on the national team’s chances of making it to the final four in the elimination rounds of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. Mohammad Nabi-led Afghanistan square off against England in their opening fixture of the showpiece event in Australia.

With the commencing of the Super 12 on Saturday, fans and members of the cricketing fraternity have begun speculating on which teams could potentially make it to the semi-finals of the World Cup this year. The month-long tournament has already seen some underdogs defeating to the heavyweights.

Asghar Afghan opens up on Afghanistan’s semi-final chances

Afghanistan could be one side that can give rival sides a run for their money and spoil chances of progressing any further. However, former skipper Afghan believes the chances for his national side to progress to the semi finals remain bleak.

“The level of preparation required for this type of tournament has not been done by Afghanistan for this World Cup. No doubt, Afghanistan have talented young spinners, but batters have struggled a lot,” Afghan said while speaking on ‘Run Ki Runneeti’ show on CricTracker. "Australia has bouncy tracks and our players are not used to it as they have not played much cricket there. That’s why it is difficult to see Afghanistan in the semi-finals."

While the statements made by the former captain make sense, the shortest format of the sport could still see Afghanistan pulling off a victory from the jaws of defeat against the big teams. They are placed along with heavyweight sides- Australia, England, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Ireland in the group stage.