Cricket carnival in India is about to kickstart. Afghanistan after the Netherlands & Australia were the quickest to arrive at the hotspot. Upon their arrival, the squad has received a warm welcome at Thiruvananthapuram, situated at the southernmost part of India. Here they will be playing their first warmup encounter against South Africa on 29th September.
ACB wanted Indian visas after their exit from Asia Cup
But the idea was to visit India early around the 10th of this month. If not the entire squad but the premier players who had played IPL before were expecting to get the visas early & start their training in subcontinent conditions. But due to the emergence of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan all those players who had Indian visas got scrapped & therefore had a delay.
A new psychologist hired to address stress & enhance performance
Nevertheless before arriving from the gulf, the cricket board of Afghanistan recruited one experienced sports psychologist to work on the mental health of players which the team desperately needed. The boys have lost quite a lot of tight games in recent times as they failed to seize the opportunity in closing stages when it mattered the most. The role of a psychologist is to interact with the players one-on-one to identify & overcome mental obstacles such as stress, anxiety & low esteem.
Amul Co-operative bags the official team sponsorship rights in World Cup
ACB has unveiled the official playing kit, powered by Tyka a while back. Amul Co-operative which is one of the topmost dairy conglomerates in India will be the principal sponsor of the national team in the cricket carnival. In 2019 cricket world cup too, Amul had secured the team sponsoring rights from ACB.
ODI series against West Indies skipped to focus on rest & fitness
After a quick first round exit from the Asia Cup, there was an opportunity to play 3 ODIs against the West Indies. But looking at the fatigue & poor mental health of players the board decided to skip the series & instead focused on the player’s rest, fitness & training.
Fringe players needed the much needed game time
Rashid Khan who has been burning himself relentlessly in various global leagues required a bit of break to regain the freshness of mind. However, looking at players like Riaz Hassan & Abdul Rahman, who are pretty new in the setup, this series would have been beneficial in terms of gaining international experience. Furthermore, guys like Naveen who is coming back into the ODI scheme of things after a gap of 32 months & Najib Zadran who is struggling for form, some sort of game time was needed to boost their confidence.
Dismal record in ODI World Cups
Its quite dismal if we look back at the performance of Afghanistan in the previous two editions. The solitary victory has come against Scotland in 2015 out of the 15 encounters that the boys have played so far. Afghanistan will definitely look to better their numbers this time around as the world cup is happening in India. The conditions will be more conducive for Atalans & the side is comparatively more balanced. If they play to their true potential & do not panic at crucial stages, there will certainly be some moments to cherish.
Afghanistan’s World Cup Squad & Coaching Staff
Squad: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rehman, Noor Ahmad Lakanwal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Abdul Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi & Ikram Alikhil.
Head Coach: Jonathan Trott, Batting Coach: Milap Mewada, Bowling Coach: Hamid Hassan, Fielding Coach: Ryan Maron, Strength & Conditioning: Jason Douglas, Assistant Coach: Raees Ahmadzai & a newly appointed psychologist whose name is yet to be revealed.
3 thoughts on “Cricket Carnival & the Afghan Readiness & Challenges”