T20 World Cup: We have never lost to Afghanistan, but these 5 'Kabuliwalas' can spoil the game, this is India's first match in Super-8

Looking at the previous record of Team India in the T20 World Cup against Afghanistan, many fans are considering the first match to be easy, but in reality it is not so. It is true that in the 3 matches played so far in the T20 World Cup, the Afghan team has never been able to defeat Team India, but the current team cannot be underestimated in any way. The Afghan team has become a strong ODI and T20 team today due to its fighting ability. Looking at the performance so far in the World Cup 2023 and the current T20 World Cup, it would be foolish to take Rashid Khan's team lightly. The team is balanced in both batting and bowling and some of its players are in top form.

Another thing, the role of spinners is going to be important on the slow pitches of West Indies and Afghanistan has probably the best spin attack in the world at present in the form of Rashid Khan, Mujibur Rahman, 'Chinaman' Noor Ahmed and Mohammad Nabi. Apart from this, all-rounders like Nabi, Gulbadin and Rashid give balance to the team. It is important for Team India to start the Super 8 in a positive way with a win. For this, apart from playing with its strength, it will have to make a strategy against every player of the opposition team.

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Let's take a look at those Afghan 'fighters' who can pose a threat to Team India in the first match of Super 8.

1. Rehmanullah Gurbaz: This 22-year-old aggressive batsman is considered to be the future star of Afghanistan. Gurbaz has become the need of the team as a wicketkeeper batsman. In the four matches of the current tournament, he has scored the highest 167 runs with the help of 2 half-centuries. Natural stroke player Gurbaz is adept at hitting fours and sixes. Gurbaz, who has scored runs at an average of 41.75 and a strike rate of 150.45 in the T20 World Cup so far, has also shown his flair in the ODI World Cup 2023 by scoring 280 runs at an average of 31.11 and a strike rate of 98.93. Gurbaz, who failed with the bat in the last two matches against Papua New Guinea and West Indies, will be desperate to make up for it in the Super 8 matches. India will have to make an effective strategy against natural stroke player Gurbaz.

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2. Ibrahim Zadran: Opening the innings with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Zadran has made two century partnerships in this World Cup. He can change the batting gear as per the need. He has filled the void of aggressive opener Shahzad. His opening pair with Gurbaz has given the team a good start in many matches. In the current World Cup, Afghanistan's number two batsman Zadran has scored 152 runs in four matches at an average of 38 and a strike rate of 124.59. He is confident of carrying this success forward in the Super 8 round.

3. Fazalhaq Farooqi : He emerged as a sensation in this T20 World Cup. This 23-year-old left-arm bowler does not have much speed of the balls but he is giving a tough test to the batsmen with his accurate line-length and variation. So far, he has taken the maximum 12 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 6.66 and economy of 5.58, which includes a performance of five wickets in an innings and four wickets in one. The overall average of T20I is 18.87 and economy is 6.62 which reflects his bowling skills. In the last group match against West Indies, he did not get any wicket despite giving 38 runs in 4 overs. In such a situation, the narrative is being created that Farooqi performed brilliantly against a weak team, the challenge in Super 8 is to prove this notion wrong

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4. Rashid Khan: He is counted among the best spinners in the T20 format. This right-handed wrist spinner is also the captain of the Afghan team in the T20 World Cup 2024. He is adept at 'hunting' batsmen with his fast balls. He is capable of changing the course of the match in a spell of 4 overs. Big batsmen get deceived in 'reading' Rashid's googly. He has taken 6 wickets in 4 matches of the current tournament with an average performance but is capable of doing wonders in bowling at any time. He has taken 144 wickets in 89 T20Is at an average of 14.36 and an economy of 6.07. Only Tim Southee and Shakib-al-Hasan have taken more wickets than Rashid in this format. However, Rashid's record is much better than both of them. He is the biggest threat to Team India in bowling. He is also useful as a hard hitting batsman in the lower order.

5. Muhammad the Prophet: 39-year-old all-rounder Mohammad Nabi is in the last phase of his cricket career but his enthusiasm and agility on the field is worth watching. 95 wickets in addition to scoring 2140 runs with the help of 6 half-centuries in 125 T20Is reflect his all-round ability. Indian fans will still remember the India vs Afghanistan match of the World Cup (ODI) 2019 when Nabi played an innings of 52 runs in 55 balls after taking two wickets and brought the Indian team to the brink of defeat. In the decisive moments, Shami took three wickets including Nabi on consecutive balls and gave India a victory by 11 runs. Apart from Nabi, Gulbadin Naib can make a difference in the match. 33-year-old Gulbadin is a middle-order batsman and medium pace bowler.

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