ICC World Cup 2019: Match 31, BAN vs AFG – Afghanistan Predicted Playing XI

Afghanistan came into this tournament on the back of some very good performances in white-ball cricket. They were expected to cause an upset or two. But they have been a touch disappointing, having lost all their six games so far and now have no chance of qualifying for the knockouts. However, after losing five on the bounce and most of them comprehensively, they gave India a massive scare.

The Afghans showed that they aren’t rollovers. The bowlers and spinners, in particular, came to the party as they restricted a strong Indian batting line-up to 224. The batting kept Afghanistan in the hunt but regular wickets pegged them back. Mohammad Nabi fought till the very last over but the Indian bowlers were too good for the Afghan side. Now with six games done, Afghanistan will look to make an impact in their remaining games. They next face Bangladesh and they will hope to build on the performance they produced against India.

Here is Afghanistan’s predicted XI for their game against Bangladesh:

Openers (Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib (C))

Hazratullah Zazai has been a disappointment in this World Cup. He seemed to have a lot of promise but hasn’t been able to produce any substantial knocks so far. He may have just one single-digit score but hasn’t got anything big. He has accumulated just 96 runs in five innings in this tournament.

Meanwhile, skipper Gulbadin Naib has been opening the batting from the last couple of games and has done relatively well. He has looked comfortable in that role. Moreover, he’s chipping in with the ball as well and is currently Afghanistan’s highest wicket-taker in this World Cup. He has also done well as the skipper of the team making strategic and team selection decisions.

Middle-order (Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Najibullah Zadran)

It is a little surprising that Rahmat Shah hasn’t really got himself going in this World Cup. He was Afghanistan’s best batsman but hasn’t got big scores. He averages just 22.16 in this tournament so far. Hashmatullah Shahidi and Najibullah Zadran have been their best batsmen in this tournament.

While Shahidi has a couple of fifties to his name, his strike-rate is very low (58.67). However, he holds one end up and tries to take the game deep. Meanwhile, Zadran is a lot more aggressive and he can change the game in a few overs. Asghar Afghan didn’t feature in the XI for the first few games. However, has been a part of the side for the last few games. But he hasn’t really done anything big either. Meanwhile, Ikram Ali Khil will continue as the wicketkeeper and will bat low down the order.

Also read – ICC World Cup 2019: Match 31, Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Match Prediction – Weather Report, Pitch Conditions, Playing XIs and Live Streaming Details

All-rounder (Mohammad Nabi)

Afghanistan have two important all-rounders. One is skipper Naib who has promoted himself to open the batting. The other is, Mohammad Nabi. Until, the last game, he had blown hot and cold with the ball but had failed with the bat. However, he came to the party with both and ball against India where he picked up a couple of important wickets and also scored 52 which kept Afghanistan in the hunt during their chase of 225.

Bowlers (Rashid Khan, Aftab Alam, Mujeeb Ur Rahman)

After the hammering against England, Rashid Khan came back strongly as he picked up 1/38 but more importantly, found his form and rhythm in the game against India. He will look to build on this form and take it forward. Meanwhile, Aftab Alam has played three games so far and has taken four wickets. He took 3/45 against New Zealand before going wicketless against South Africa. He returned 1/54 against India in the last game.

Like Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman also found some good rhythm in the game against India. He bowled beautifully and got the big wicket of Rohit Sharma upfront. Hence, he will continue to take the new ball.