Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi on Tuesday said the upset win over defending champions England will give his side a lot of confidence in their World Cup match against New Zealand in Chennai on Wednesday. Afghanistan stunned England by 69 runs in Delhi on Sunday to record their second win in World Cup history. The Kiwis, who are unbeaten in the tournament so far, will pose a tough challenge for the Afghans, but Shahidi asserted that his side would be up to the task once again.
“Definitely it was a big win for us. England are defending champion. So, that will give a lot of confidence for our team,” he said during the pre-match press conference.
“And we had belief from the beginning of the tournament, but the first two games didn’t go our way.” As far as Afghanistan’s preparations are concerned, they have had enough camps and outings in India.
Afghanistan roped in former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja as a mentor for this tournament, and Shahidi said that having Indians with his side has really helped their batting to flourish.
“We had a coach in the past also from India, and right now Jadeja. If you look at India, their (Indians) batting is very good. So, those talks about batting and the team, it helps us whenever an Indian coach is with us,” he said.
Shahidi said he did not agree with the perception that cricket facilities in Afghanistan are not adequate.
“We have good enough facilities to prepare ourselves. We have good domestic cricket also. If we want to prepare or arrange camps in our country, it’s possible.
“In every city, in Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar, we have facilities, we have stadiums, we have academies. It’s not like India, but still, you can prepare yourself on it.” The Chepauk ground here is not an unknown territory for the Afghans, having had numerous training session and preparations at this venue, and Shahidi feels that the experience would come in handy against the New Zealanders.
“India was our home for two or three years. So, we are used to it. On this ground, we had a preparation camp for the 2019 World Cup. We spent 40 days here.
“So, all these things give us a lot of advantage, especially in these conditions like India, because with that, the condition is same to Afghanistan also.”
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