Afghanistan is a team full of street-smart mystery: Mahela Jayawardena
The Afghans have been in superlative form of late.
Cricket in Afghanistan has surged ahead in the last decade or so and has captured the imaginations of the supporters. In a very short period, their fandom across the globe has escalated significantly. The team is currently in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) where they are participating in the Asia Cup.
They are placed in Group B along with the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Their first match is against Sri Lanka on September 17 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. On September 20, they will lock horns with Bangladesh in their last group match at the same venue.
The tournament has played a really valuable role
In the meantime, Mahela Jayawardena, the former Sri Lankan cricketer, reckons that Asghar Afghan’s team will add mystery to the tournament. Moreover, the 41-year-old believes that the 50-overs tournament provides a platform for the new teams to showcase their skills.
“The Asia Cup has played an important role in the development of cricket in Asia and this year’s tournament in the UAE has even more spice by the emergence of a fifth major force in the region, Afghanistan, a team full of street-smart mystery.
The tournament has played a really valuable role in providing a platform for the emergence of new talent,” Jayawardena wrote in his column for the Times of India (TOI).
Afghanistan previously took part in two editions of the Asia Cup. They played four matches in the 2014 edition of the event and managed to roll over Bangladesh, albeit they lost their remaining three matches. In the previous edition in 2016, which was played in a T20 format, they couldn’t qualify for the main draw.
The team’s recent form has been impressive, to say the least. Earlier in June, they beat Bangladesh in the three-match T20I series in Dehradun. Recently, the Afghans also thumped Ireland in the three-match T20I and the three-match ODI series in Ireland.
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