IND vs AFG: These 5 Afghanistan players can create trouble for hosts

It’s just another three days to go for Afghanistan to make their debut in Tests and they will play their first five-day game against powerhouse India at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

Afghanistan will be led by Asghar Stanikzai while India will be captained by stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane. The match may look a mismatch on the paper but given Afghanistan’s performance in Twenty20s and one-day internationals, it will be unwise to write them off from the contest straightaway.

On the contrary, there are players in the Afghanistan squad who can create jitters in the minds of the Indians in the game which the debutants eye to make a memorable one in their cricketing history.

Here we take a look at five players from the Afghanistan side who can turn the tables even on the best of the teams on their given day

1. Rashid Khan

The 19-year-old leg-break bowler has already established himself as one of Afghanistan’s biggest asset about whom even his country’s president is possessive. The fastest to take 100 wickets in ODIs and joint second quickest to take 50 scalps in T20s, Rashid Khan will be hoping to do a John Traicos or Nairmur Rahman in his team’s debut Test versus India.

Both Traicos and Rahman had taken five-wicket hauls for Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, respectively, in their debut Test match against a strong Indian batting line-up. It will be interesting to see how he delivers those ripping googlies with the red ball.

2. Mujeeb ur Rahman

Seventeen-year-old Mujeeb ur Rahman is the first international male cricketer to have born in the 21st century and after his impressive show in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), the Afghanistan side will hope the man continues with his show against India in the Bengaluru Test.

Rahman made the headlines after castling Kohli in one of the IPL games this year and this mystery bowler will be one the Indian batters will have to negotiate in Bengaluru. He has scores of spinning options under his sleeves and if the Chinnaswamy wicket proves to be a turner, the hosts will have to do an extra work to negotiate with Rahman.

3. Asghar Stanikzai

Though Afghanistan’s strength in their debut Test will be their spin bowling, yet a mention must be made about 30-year-old Kabul born batsman Asghar Stanikzai, the captain and a middle-order batsman who is known for his hunger to occupy the crease which is generally absent among batsmen from inexperienced sides.

Stanikzai has already played 86 ODI matches and 54 T20s and has one century in the 50-over format. In first-class cricket, he has played 23 matches scoring 1,421 runs at an impressive average of 44.40. Stanikzai will have his challenges from India’s in-form pacers and if he can overcome that, he could be a threat to Rahane’s men.

4. Mohammad Nabi

Thirty-three-year-old former captain of Afghanistan Mohammad Nabi is the visitors’ answer to India’s Ravichandran Ashwin. With 98 ODIs and 63 T20Is, Nabi is not only Afghanistan’s most experienced player but also the highest run and wicket-getter in ODIs and highest wicket-taker and second highest run-scorer in the T20Is. In first-class cricket, too, the right-handed player has scored 1,251 runs and taken 86 wickets. He has scored centuries in both ODIs and first-class cricket while he has three five-wicket hauls in the first-class format.

Nabi is a key figure in this Afghanistan side since he has been around since the initial days of the side’s rise in the cricketing world. Nabi will be eager to make his country’s first Test memorable and sign off as a statesman like Arjuna Ranatunga. His all-rounding abilities can give Afghanistan an edge at key moments of the game.

5. Mohammad Shahzad

The 30-year-old burly wicket-keeper could eclipse his counterpart Dinesh Karthik – a Test irregular – in the one-off Test. Shahzad is the only cricketer of Afghanistan who has a century in T20Is and also has an unbeaten double century in the first-class cricket (versus Canada) in which he average above 54. In the ODIs, Shahzad already has four tons to his name with the highest being 131 not out which is highest for Afghanistan in the 50-over format.

Having returned to international cricket after a year of ban, Shahzad could be an important cog in Afghanistan’s wheel in the game against India and thereafter in their journey in Test cricket. Shahzad is known for his hard-hitting and will be handy at moments of need. As a keeper, Shahzad has a better record with 75 dismissals in 69 ODIs (54 catches, 22 stumpings) as against Kartik who in 79 game, has effected 60 dismissals (53 catches but only 7 stumpings)