Rashid Khan emphasizes on playing ‘smart cricket’ leading into West Indies series

Rashid Khan, the Afghanistan captain, is fully geared up for the national team’s ODIs, T20Is and the one-off Test versus the West Indies. The tour starts with the first One Dayer on Wednesday, November 6 at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Vihari Vajpayee International Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Rashid is confident that it won’t be tough for his batsmen to go big even with large dimensions of the ground.

However, the 21-year-old doesn’t wish to get carried away with the ability of stroke-play. Rather, the youngster wants the Afghans to play ‘smart cricket’. Back in September, he became the youngest ever Test skipper and tasted victory right away, defeating Bangladesh in Chattogram. Ahead of the upcoming series, Rashid also wishes for his side to put forward their A-game.

We will play our best cricket: Rashid Khan

“We are not big in size, but we hit big sixes. We have the Afghani power and this boundary will also be small for us. But we will have to play smart cricket and not focus much on big shots. Because on such big ground, you have to play smart cricket,” Rashid was quoted as saying in a press conference ahead of the opening match on Wednesday.

“We will not focus on how they are against the spin; we will play our best cricket and deliver our best bowling performance. In six ODI thus far between the teams, the Afghans came out trumps on three instances, including a couple in last year’s World Cup qualifiers in Harare. Even in T20Is, Afghanistan beat the West Indies in the 2016 World T20 in India.

In the meantime, Lance Klusener, the newly-appointed head coach of the Afghans, feels that the next few series is crucial for them, keeping in mind the 2020 Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup in Australia, starting October 18.

“Any series is important from here on as the Asia Cup and the World Cup are coming. Any series will bring us closer to finding the team that is going to take us in those big tournaments. So, the sooner we find those combinations, the better it is,” Klusener, also a former South African cricket, said.

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