Mohammad Nabi is hoping that his side can repeat recent history on Sunday and beat hosts Bangladesh in the first round of the World Twenty20, the Afghanistan captain said in a press briefing on Monday. Afghanistan, who defied the odds and beat Bangladesh by 32 runs at Fatullah in the Asia Cup earlier this month, stand between the hosts and the Super 10 stage in the World Twenty20, and Nabi is targeting that second round berth for his own side.
‘We will try our best. Our first match against Bangladesh, it is a tough match,’ Nabi said in Chittagong on Monday, looking ahead to Afghanistan’s clash with the Tigers in the tournament opener at Mirpur on March 16.
‘If we win three games in qualifying, we go to second round.’
Nabi reiterated that his team featured a number of players in the side had prior experience in Bangladesh, adding that the Asia Cup had served to prepare them even further for the challenge ahead.
‘We got a good win against Bangladesh. It is good preparation for T20 World Cup. We are getting used to pitches and grounds.’
‘We are learning. Six, seven players already played in DPL [Dhaka Premier League] and BPL [Bangladesh Premier League]. Our team is good in T20: bowling, batting and fielding. We will try hard to beat Bangladesh this time to go to the second round.’
Ominously for the hosts, whose struggles in the shortest format are well-documented, the Afghan skipper said he believes that Twenty20 cricket suits his side even better than the fifty-over format.
‘We will play positive cricket. We prefer T20 cricket from ODI. Anything can happen in T20 matches. We are not targeting anything. We will play our natural game,’ Nabi added.
Nepal just happy to be here
Nepal captain Paras Khadka declared that his side had not come to Bangladesh to win anything and were instead happy to represent Nepal in the cricketing world at a press conference at a city hotel on Monday.
The Himalayan nation will introduce themselves in a major tournament for the first time when the World Twenty20 starts on March 16. They will participate in the first round in Group A with hosts Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.
They are among six teams to have made it to the first round of the World T20 out of the Qualifier tournament held in the UAE last November.
‘I think we are here to present Nepal cricket in front of the whole world,’ said Khadka.
‘It is a great opportunity for us. It is not like we have only qualified for this tournament and worked for three months. We have been playing for 10-12 years with hard work and playing continuous cricket. We are here to compete and play to the best of our ability. If we play to our potential, things should be good for us,’ he added.
No pressure on HK
Hong Kong face no pressure as they get set to participate in their maiden ICC World Twenty20, captain Jamie Atkinson said at a press briefing in Chittagong on Monday.
‘Bangladesh are the favourites in our group,’ Atkinson said. ‘There is no pressure on us; at least that’s how we are going to think about it. It is quite a dangerous thing for us.’
‘It is a great moment for Hong Kong to qualify for the World T20 for the first time,’ he said, noting that his side had been preparing abroad for the better part of a month before their arrival.
‘We have had some good preparation. We have been in SL for 10-12 days. We moved to Dubai in the last week or so, where we played against other Associate members.’
Atkinson also said that Afghanistan’s recent victory over Bangladesh was a positive sign for Associate cricket.
‘It is great for Associates that Afghanistan got that win against Bangladesh. It shows the gap is closing between Associates and Full Member countries. I think it is excellent for cricket as a whole.’
-With New Age input
