Afghanistan can beat India if we put up a big score on the board: Hamid Hassan

Fast bowler Hamid Hassan said that Afghanistan have the potential to get past India in their upcoming Super 12 match of the T20 World Cup 2021. The Afghans, led by Mohammad Nabi, started their campaign with a thumping 130-run win over Scotland after which Pakistan beat them by five wickets. However, they made a comeback after they defeated Namibia by 62 runs.

Due to their massive wins over Scotland and Namibia, the Afghans have also got their net run rate to 3.097, the best among the participating teams in their group. Hassan, who made a comeback to T20I cricket after five years, reckoned that if Afghanistan manage to put up a big total on the board, they can put India under pressure with their bowling and fielding.

The plan is to qualify for the semi-finals, says Hamid Hassan

“We have a good opportunity against India. If we put up good runs on the board, we can defeat them by bowling and fielding (well),” Hassan was quoted as saying in cricket.com.

Hassan also spoke about his plans of making his comeback a memorable one by picking up wickets in the next game against a struggling Indian batting unit.

“It (will) depend on the wicket, how it behaves; we will see how it goes and work on our plans, what we have got and we will see. You cannot say anything before the game. But we will try our best to give our 100 percent in the game, be it spinners or fast bowlers,” he stated.

He also said that Afghanistan aren’t looking too far ahead and are taking small steps in their quest to qualify for the semis. “Honestly, we are focusing on the game one by one (each game). But the plan is to qualify for the semi-finals,” he said.

Moreover, the 34-year-old Hassan sounded happy with the improvement Afghanistan cricket has shown over the last few years.

“Afghanistan is a very good side, you see batting, bowling and fielding has improved a lot. We have some of the best spinners in the world (Mohammed) Nabi, Rashid (Khan) and Mujeeb (Ur Rahman). Now it’s a proper, complete squad,” Hassan added.