Afghanistan board needs to increase the number of matches and camps for the team to improve: Asghar Afghan

After a tragic end to their match against Pakistan, the Afghanistan team is now out of the Asia Cup. Despite putting a low score on board, the bowlers showed extreme courage and dedication and at one point were the favourites to win the match. However, with two back-to-back sixes in the final over of the match, Afghanistan was shown the door as they lost by 1 wicket.

With that defeat, former Afghanistan skipper Asghar Afghan has requested the board to increase the number of matches the team plays in a year. He wants the board to set up more national camps and to play against the big boys of the cricketing world. He believes that unless the team plays consistently against top teams, it will be difficult for them to win major games.

“The way we prepare isn’t like the way it should be. The way we were building a team combination in 2017-18-19 (isn’t the same anymore). We used to organise camps, play a lot of matches and the team was improving. This is the problem right now. Unless, we organise camps and play a lot of matches.. and the cricket board needs to organise matches against big opponents. Unless we play against top nations on a regular basis, we will not be able to win even after playing well,” said Afghan on 'BatBricks7 presents Run Ki Runneeti' on CricTracker.

Batters need to take responsibility and give bowlers a good total to defend: Afghan

Even since they emerged in the international scene, bowling has been Afghanistan's primary strength. First Rashid Khan and then Mujeeb Ur Rahman became a valuable asset in the Afghanistan squad. Last night, bowlers like Fareed Ahmad and Fazalhaq Farooqi also played well. However, it’s their batting that has been bothering the side for some time.

Despite significant contribution from Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the Afghanistan team failed to put up a good score whenever they batted first in the tournament. This is one area that the team needs to address and improve immediately. Asghar Afghan in the show asked the batters to take some responsibility and give the bowlers a good total to defend.

“Batters need to take responsibility. Around 150 runs in a T20 game is problematic. Whenever we play against a quality side, our batters should take responsibility. Unless we give bowlers a good score to defend, it will be difficult (to win). You can’t defend 130 runs every time,” said the 35-year-old after Afghanistan ruled out of the Asia Cup.