Aakash Chopra agrees with Rashid Khan’s wish to play against stronger teams in future

Afghanistan team had perhaps their best outing in international cricket as they defeated Bangladesh in one-off Test series and they were the joint winners of the T20I tri-nation series. Their new captain Rashid Khan was elated with the performance and his own outing in the Test match was superlative, as he picked 11 wickets and score a fifty to help his unit.

Afghanistan team has been one of the most exciting ones in the last 5-6 years given the enormous talent they have and how their players have been doing in the various T20 leagues. But the skipper lamented the fact that the Afghan team has not played against top tier teams more often. This lack of experience against quality opponents has hindered in their betterment according to Rashid.

“We have played only twice against Australia, New Zealand, and England in the last five years. We would have known their strengths and weaknesses. It should be looked into. If we want to be a good side, we should play more against the top sides.

“Not one match in four years. These teams have four fast bowlers who bowl 140-plus. We play against Scotland and Ireland, and they hardly have a 140-plus bowler,” he was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.com.

Chopra agrees with Rashid

Former India opener Aakash Chopra agreed with the Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan and mentioned that the youngest Test team should have more experience against top-level teams. “Couldn’t agree more. Our failure to prepare them comes to the fore in the World Cup. Why hasn’t SA played against AFG on this tour to India? Thought all teams touring India will play a few games against them…” he tweeted.

Couldn’t agree more. Our failure to prepare them comes to the fore in the World Cup. Why hasn’t SA played against AFG on this tour to India? Thought all teams touring India will play a few games against them… https://t.co/pbmfd4zNKT

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 25, 2019

Afghanistan has been one of the most competitive teams in white-ball cricket. They won the 2019 World Cup qualifiers and though they couldn’t win any match in the main tournament, they came close to winning three against Asian giants Pakistan, Sri Lanka and India, only to lose the contest in the final overs.

In the red-ball game, they lost their debut Test against India in two days, but have since beaten Ireland and Bangladesh, their first-ever win against a full-member nation. Rashid felt that other cricket boards should play three-match Test series against them in order to help them grow into a better unit.

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