Afghanistan has featured in just nine Tests since coming into the fold in 2018. As it gears up for its 10 th Test outing in six years, against New Zealand at the Shaheed Singh Pathik Stadium from Monday, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi batted for more red-ball outings for his team.
“If you look at Test cricket, we are new in this format. We need more experience. If we get more chances regularly, we will improve a lot. As a team and a country, we are great people and we accept challenges. In this game and also in the future, if we get more chances we will improve and show that we are the best team,” Shahidi told reporters on Sunday.
This will be the first time Afghanistan will play New Zealand in a Test match, and Shahidi considers it a huge opportunity for the team.
“In six years, nine games is not more. If we get more chances with big teams, we will improve. It’s a good opportunity for us to play against New Zealand, given their ranking. Hopefully, the ACB will try harder to give us opportunities against bigger teams in the future,” he said.
But the issue remains in finding the window to have more Test matches due to a packed white-ball calendar and the ever-increasing popularity of the franchise leagues.
“It’s in the hands of the ACB and ICC,” Shahidi said. “When it comes to Test cricket, some players are different from those who play in the leagues. If we get three-four match series at a stretch, it will be helpful for us as a side. If you look at our past, we would prepare only 10 days ahead of a Test match. It’s not easy to come to red-ball cricket, by just playing in the nets. Only if you play matches, will you get better at judging the ball,” he added.
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So far, Afghanistan has won three of its nine Test outings, but with Jonathan Trott as the head coach, the mindset has changed. “The coach wants us to be aggressive and improve. Every day we are trying our best. The youngsters who came to the team are talented and hardworking. There is a healthy and professional jealousy (rivalry) among the players as everyone is willing to give their best,” Shahidi said.
Interestingly, under Trott, the team did reasonably well in the shorter format and reached the semifinal of the T20 World Cup a couple of months ago, with Rashid Khan leading from the front. But Test cricket is a different ball game and the side will be missing its star Rashid.
“It’s tough to miss players like Rashid because he did very well in the past in Tests. We will miss him and others. We have more talented guys, it’s an opportunity for them to make their names in the world of cricket. It’s big for each and everyone for us. If we do well, the whole world will talk about us very positively,” Shahidi said.
Afghanistan will be playing at Greater Noida after four long years and going forward, the captain believes that having just one ‘home venue’ will help them be more consistent. Over the years, Afghanistan has had home bases in Greater Noida, Dehradun, Lucknow and the UAE. Recently, the BCCI allotted Greater Noida and Kanpur as the home venues for the team.
“India is our home, and when we host teams, other nations have played more cricket here. Hopefully, we will get a good venue here in India and if we restrict ourselves to one venue, it will be effective for us,” Shahidi said.
“If you see our record in first-class, it’s good because we play at our home ground. We know those conditions. Hopefully, in the future, there will be a time when the teams will travel to Afghanistan and our average will be higher.
Hopefully, the ACB and the BCCI will get us a good venue…”
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