Afghanistan Have Better Bowling Than Bangladesh, Sri Lanka: Gautam Gambhir Warns India
Virat Kohli and Co. Will go after Afghanistan in their must-win Super 12, Group 2 match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday
Mumbai: Former Indian Cricketer Gautam Gambhir has warned Team India ahead of their match against Afghanistan in the T20 World Cup and said that their spin-bowling attack comprising Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi is enough to give sleepless nights to any team.
Gambhir told to Star Sports that Afghanistan has a better bowling attack than the likes of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. “Afghanistan aren’t pushovers. They have a better bowling attack than the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.”
Stressing on that point, Gambhir said it won’t be an easy task for Virat Kohli and Co. to go after the Afghanistan bowlers in their must-win Super 12, Group 2 match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
India’s only hope of qualifying for the semi-finals is wining against Afghanistan, Scotland and Nambia, and then hope any of these three sides would go on to beat New Zealand, bringing the net run rate into play.
Gambhir said this situation can act as an added motivation to the Indian batters.
“In such a situation when runs are dried up, batters tend to play for their position, which can be extra motivation. Do that and get runs on the board. You try to win first, rather than thinking about the NRR. Once you are in the game, you play according to the situation,” he added.
Gambhir also highlighted the fact that we cannot blame IPL. The IPL came under severe criticism after India pacer Jasprit Bumrah acknowledged that fatigue was one of the reasons for the Men-in-Blue’s below-par show in this World Cup so far.
Gambhir, however, disagreed. The former left-hander said it is wrong to blame the IPL for the World Cup debacle so far. The Indian batters did not show enough intent against New Zealand and that has got nothing to do with the IPL.
“You can’t blame the IPL. If anything goes wrong with Indian cricket, everyone starts pointing fingers towards the IPL. This is wrong. Sometimes, you have to expect that 2-3 teams are playing better cricket than you. The earlier you accept that, the better it will be for you.
“In the previous game against New Zealand, we weren’t brave enough, we were so nervous before the game. What has that got to do with IPL? It was similar in the 2019 World Cup semi-final as well. At that time, we had come to the World Cup after playing in the Indian Premier League as well!” Gambhir added.
The former KKR skipper said IPL is important to give adequate match practice to players
“Instead, IPL is important because players need adequate match practice. You can’t go into the World Cup with 2-3 games of practice and warm-ups,” he said.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram, and like us on Facebook for the latest updates and interesting stories.
