Afghanistan team during a practice session ahead of their ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 match against India, at Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Credit: PTI Photo
The Virat Kohli and Naveen-Ul-Haq incident in the Indian Premier League earlier this year is an odd episode in otherwise cordial relations between the players from either side. Virat Kohli is loved and respected by Afghans as much as Rashid Khan is by Indians. There's a genuine sense of gratitude among Afghans towards India and it's not just because Dehradun has been their "home" venue in the past.
"India is our home, it was our home (venue), we played here and the people of India give a lot of love to Afghanistan people," said Afghanistan skipper Hashmtullah Shahidi in an attempt to play down a query on Kohli-Naveen incident. "And what happened on the ground, that aggression comes to every player; it's not about India and Afghanistan. This can happen to anyone and so has this. But still if you see, a lot of our players have idols from the Indian team like (Sachin) Tendulkar and (Rahul) Dravid. So, there’s no concern about that."
Afghanistan possess arguably the best set of spinners with enviable variety in this World Cup. They have some explosive batters who can take down the best bowlers in business and decent pacers who can trouble the best of the batters. They are, if you like, the infant version of their neighbours Pakistan - exciting but unpredictable. Which Afghanistan side shows up on a particular day depends on which side of the bed they get up. It doesn't take long for them to go bust from boom as was witnessed during their World Cup opener against Bangladesh.
One aspect of their game, though, doesn't change. They are a fearless bunch. But then, for those - who have lived and grown amidst the sound of bombs and bullets, death and destruction -- an opponent on a cricket field can't inspire fear. They will respect their opponents but will not be intimidated by their stature.
"We have a good spin bowling attack, but only one department can't win you games," pointed out Shahidi referring to the match against Bangladesh. "You have to score runs to win the game. Also in the Bangladesh game, I know we didn't do well in batting, but we still believe, I still believe, we can do better. And as a team we have that belief that we could come back in the next game and through the tournament. The belief is there and the talent is there and we will try to move on and make it better and improve in tomorrow's (Tuesday) game," he offered.
Afghanistan haven't played India in India in a 50-over cricket before. Come to think of it, both teams have played each other in just three ODIs in three different countries before with India winning two and tieing one of them. It will be an atmosphere that the Afghans have never experienced but Shahidi wasn't perturbed by the daunting task.
"When it's the opposition's home, there will be crowd pressure," noted Shahidi when asked about the prospect of playing India in India for the first time in a 50-over game. "Especially in India, there are a lot of expectations that the stadium would be packed but as a team our talks are like we have to make these things simple, and we are used to full stadiums. Before this also we played in Bangladesh and other countries with full stadiums backing the opposition. We should not worry as players about those things."