Afghanistan fans send wishes to team ahead of T20 World Cup opener vs England

Afghanistan cricket fans have wished the national team luck ahead of their first match in the T20 World Cup 2022 against England on Saturday.

Afghanistan have played in four T20 World Cups, and have beaten some of the top teams, but have never advanced to the semi-final stage.

“I hope Afghanistan national cricket team will shine well in this World Cup, and will have good achievements for Afghanistan,” an Afghan fan said.

“I want the national cricket team to play well in the World Cup,” another fan said.

Afghanistan will play England, New Zealand, Ireland and Sri Lanka and Australia in the Super 12 stage of the tournament. They directly qualified to the Super 12 from the previous tournament.

Ahead of the World Cup campaign, Afghanistan played two warm up matches – against Bangladesh and Pakistan. They beat Bangladesh by 62 runs. They made 154 against Pakistan, but the match was called off due to rain.

Afghanistan fans were dismayed when the wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz was struck on foot by a Yorker during the warm-up game.

However, he will play in the tournament opener.

“I assure all the fans that I am absolutely fit for the coming matches, and will play,” Gurbaz said in a video message.

Nabi and Rashid are two quality all-rounders who can do damage with both and ball. Along with providing some late-order hitting, the duo will also be expected to lead the bowling attack with their canny tricks. They will be backed by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, completing a highly dangerous spin trio.

“Any team that has Rashid Khan in will be a really strong team,” England captain Joe Buttler said. “T20 is one of those games when an individual can win it on their own on a day.”

Afghanistan’s match against England is expected to kick off at 15:30 (AFT) and will be broadcast live on Ariana Television.

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