Why are Vikramjit Singh and Naveen-ul-Haq not playing in ICC World Cup 2023, match 34 between Netherlands and Afghanistan?

Not many would have predicted prior to the ODI World Cup 2023 that the Netherlands and Afghanistan would have realistic chances of reaching the semi-finals after the completion of 33 games. However, the two teams have punched above their weight and showed that they belong alongside the top teams in world cricket.

The Netherlands and Afghanistan lock horns in match 34 of the ODI World Cup 2023 in Lucknow on Friday, November 3. Scott Edwards made two changes to his side as Saqib Zulfiqar and Roelof van der Merwe returned in place of Vikramjit Singh and Shariz Ahmad. Afghanistan, on the other hand, beefed up their spin department as they brought back talented left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmad in place of Naveen-ul-Haq.

The Netherlands are coming into this encounter on the back of an impressive 87-run win against Bangladesh in Kolkata. They have two wins and four losses from six matches and are currently placed at No. 8 on the points table. Afghanistan have played the same number of matches and have won three and lost three. They recorded an impressive seven-wicket win against Sri Lanka in their last game and are placed at No. 6 on the table.

What did the two captains say at the toss?

Scott Edwards won the toss and had no hesitation in opting to bat first. He said that batting first has been working for his team and also spoke about the importance of getting runs from the top-order. Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi admitted that he also would have liked to have batted first if he won the toss. He reckoned that the track will help the spinners and that is why they are going in with four spinners.

"We'll bat first. It has worked well for us. The wicket looks decent. Hopefully put on the runs and defend it. We have made one change. That's something we've spoken about, our top-order needs to make more runs. We've got Barresi coming up to the top and Vikramjit is missing out. We are still fighting for the spot in the semi-final. We have to play a lot of good cricket. As a group, that (Champions Trophy) is not something we are focusing on. That comes with potentially playing good cricket," Edwards said.

Hashmatullah Shahidi said: "We wanted to bat, but that doesn't matter. We need to play 100 overs of good cricket. It'll spin. We are trying to play good cricket. We are going with four spinners. Noor Ahmad is in for Naveen. A lot of support, in this WC, everyone's praying for us. We are happy for that. The focus will be on today's game."

Netherlands (Playing XI): Wesley Barresi, Max O'Dowd, Colin Ackermann, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Scott Edwards(WK/C), Bas de Leede, Saqib Zulfiqar, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(C), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ikram Alikhil(WK), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Noor Ahmad