Gulbadin Naib: ‘Rashid Khan is in good spirits’

Ahead of the clash against India, Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib says leg-spinner Rashid — who conceded 100+ runs against England — is mentally strong and learns quickly.

Afghanistan captain Gulbadin Naib addresses the media ahead of the match against India in Southampton.

Gulbadin Naib, the Afghanistan skipper, conceded that India would be combative and Saturday’s World Cup game here would be a tough one on his side. “Obviously India is one of the best teams, is ranked high and will not give us anything. We are just focusing on our cricket,” Naib told the media on Friday.

The one-sided match against England may have been traumatic but Naib still found some positive vibes: “England is a good side and one of the favourites but if you look at the game, we did do a lot of things there. We batted well and we focussed on batting 50 overs. The idea is if we play 50 overs, maybe we will get a good total and as for the morale of the guys, they are just focusing on each and every game.”

Probed on Rashid Khan’s state of mind following his expensive spells to Eoin Morgan’s men, Naib reiterated that the leg-spinner is in good spirits: “Rashid Khan is not an easy bowler but credit goes to the England side. They played him really well. Rashid is strong in his mind and he learns quickly. He is just focusing on the present and the future and that is the best thing about Rashid.”