New Delhi: Afghanistan do not see the one-off Test against New Zealand as an opportunity to keep their Test playing status. Still, they have a purpose: to show the world that Test cricket is their greatest format, according to captain Hashmatullah Shahidi.
Afghanistan players are ready to compete against the biggest names in international cricket and improve themselves.
“About Test cricket, 100% we want to improve. We want to show to the world our best format is Test cricket. And I mentioned before that we accept all kinds of challenges, and I am telling the boys also that these opportunities are very big opportunities for us, each and everyone, to show our skill, to show our talent and make… if I am a batsman, make a big score, big runs.
“So your name will be among the big names in the future. So if you want that, this is the place and time to show. I think we have that ability to do it and need to show it,” Shahidi said on the eve of the match in Greater Noida.
Afghanistan will play their first Test on Monday at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground. They have previously played home Tests at Dehradun, Lucknow, and Abu Dhabi. Shahidi proposed a specifically created Test venue in India to better understand the circumstances for future matches.
“If you see, India is our home and when we host teams, the other nations have played more cricket than us here. So hopefully, we will get one good venue here in India and stick with that. If we stick with one venue, it will be more effective for us,” Shahidi said.
“And one more thing, if you see our players, they have a good record in first-class cricket because we play in our own grounds (in Afghanistan). We know our own conditions very well. So hopefully the time comes in future that teams come to Afghanistan. Then our average will be even higher than what it is right now, and hopefully, our cricket board and BCCI will give a good venue for us in India, and we play a lot of cricket in one venue,” he added.
Afghanistan has played nine Test matches over six years. Although they are set to play 22 Tests in the current FTP (2023-2027), only a few are against top Test-playing nations. So far in this cycle, Afghanistan has faced Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Ireland, with upcoming matches scheduled against Zimbabwe (six), Ireland (three), India (one), Australia (one), and the West Indies (one) after the New Zealand match.
“In six years, nine games is not, I cannot say it’s a lot. If we get a lot more chances with the good teams, we will improve, and our cricket board is doing that job. Like with New Zealand, if you see their history of Test cricket and where they are in the rankings right now, it’s a good opportunity for us, and hopefully, our cricket board will try harder to give us opportunities against good teams in the future. I think if we get more chances on regular basis, we will improve a lot because if we see as a team and as a country, we are brave people, and we always accept challenges,” Shahidi said.
“If we get a three- or four-match series in one time, I think it will be very good for us as a side. If you look at our past, we get one Test match, and we start preparing for that ten days before. So it’s not easy to come to red-ball cricket. Playing matches will make us even better at judging the ball and playing good cricket in red-ball format, compared to playing in the nets. So if we play three-four games back to back I think it will be better,” he added.
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–IANS
Photo Credit: Instagram/ACB
