South African batters are familiar with the Afghan spinners and are ready for them, says Miller

There are seemingly no more secrets in international cricket. David Miller and Rashid Khan, who are set to face-off in the South Africa-Afghanistan Group D encounter at the Narendra Modi Stadium here on Wednesday, may very well attest.

Miller and Rashid played together for Gujarat Titans for three seasons in the IPL here. Rashid is a regular in the SA20, and he and Miller played each other in the 2023 ODI World Cup at this very ground.

Yet, for all the familiarity, cricket retains a glorious uncertainty — the pitch. And this being a day game that starts at 11 a.m., there is great intrigue.

“No one around the world will tell you how the wicket will behave before the game,” Rashid said on Tuesday. “Everyone gives their point of view. Sometimes it’s a 250 wicket, and sometimes 150. If you put those things in the mind it affects you mentally.

“Nowadays, I’m hearing a lot of discussion about the wicket. We are not really discussing the skills that we have. And we bring those skills into the game,” he added.

In Sunday’s five-wicket defeat to New Zealand, Rashid & Co. couldn’t tie down the Kiwi batters. But against the Proteas, they may be encouraged by how Canada left-arm spinner Ansh Patel kept the South Africans on a leash during Monday’s contest and picked up three wickets.

“I think all our guys are really good at playing spin,” insisted Miller. “Afghanistan has got some really good spinners, but a lot of us have played with them and against them for a number of years now.

“With all due respect, Canada, we’ve never… we didn’t know how the players play. So we were assessing that out for the first time. But Afghanistan, we know what to expect.”

There are no more secrets, are there? Wednesday will tell.