All the players in the Indian team are Virat Kohli for us: Asghar Stanikzai

He also believed that they will learn a lot while playing against the World number 1 side.

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Afghanistan
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Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Afghanistan will step into the new world of Test cricket on Thursday when their 11 troops will come out on the field to face India. It is their debut game and they couldn’t have begun their journey in whites in a better way as they are playing against the World number 1 side in the longest format of the game. But their skipper Asghar Stanikzai is disappointed with the fact that they will not be able to play against Virat Kohli. However, he also went on to say that the Indian team is very special and every player is like Kohli for them.

Earlier, the Indian captain was skipping the historic Test match to play in the County Cricket for Sussex. But then he sustained a neck injury while playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and was subsequently ruled out of all the action. Nevertheless, the team will now be led by Ajinkya Rahane and no wonder they are starting as the favourites. But Afghanistan has the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in their ranks who have the ability to trouble the best line-ups in the world.

Team depend on 11 players

Asghar Stanikzai lamented the fact Virat Kohli was not playing but also believed that the team is not about an individual. He also termed the Indian side as ‘special’ and marked each one of the 11 players as Kohli. The skipper of Afghanistan also hailed the experience of India in Test cricket and hoped to learn a lot from this game.

“Teams depend on 11 players, not one. If Virat Kohli was here, it would have been more fun playing the Test, with the kind of experience he has and the manner in which he plays Test cricket. But if you see the India team, all of the players are Virat Kohli for us. For us, it’s not that Virat Kohli is special or there is no one. Every Indian player is a Virat Kohli. They are all good players and have good experience in Test cricket,” he said while speaking to DNA India.

The 30-year-old was also upbeat about playing against the World number 1 side in Test arena and stressed that they will try to play better cricket than their opponents during the next five days.

India are number one in Test cricket and, especially when they play at home, they are amazing and it’s really difficult to beat them in India. But our efforts against India will be to play good cricket so that people enjoy the game. A win or loss is a different matter; whoever plays well will win. We will try to play good cricket. We will get to learn a lot from India. At the same time, India might also get to learn something from us. We will try to play better cricket than India in a positive way,” he concluded.

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