Afghanistan, giant-killer of ODI World Cup 2023, gears up for T20Is against India in chilly conditions

With the T20 World Cup in June being the focus, Afghanistan, after a 2-1 series win over the United Arab Emirates, is here to make the most of this opportunity and pull off a surprise.

Afghanistan bowler Naveen-ul-Haq during the practice session ahead of the T20 cricket match against India, in Mohali. | Photo Credit: PTI

The biting cold and chilly breeze failed to deter the Afghanistan cricketers from opting for a lengthy net session at the PCA ground on Tuesday.

No doubt, the Afghans are well-equipped to deal with these conditions back home but the discomfort was written large on the faces of many players.

With single-digit temperatures prevailing for the better part of 24 hours and the icy winds making matters worse in the city, their plight was understandable.

Once the action moved from stretching and catching at the ground to bowling and batting in an enclosed ‘net’ area, the players appeared at ease. Mercifully, given the itinerary of the series, the caravan will travel to Indore and Bangalore, cities where the winter is far less severe.

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Unlike India, Afghanistan has warmed up for this series by expectedly scoring a 2-1 series win over the United Arab Emirates. With the T20 World Cup in June being the focus, Afghanistan is here to make the most of this opportunity and pull off a surprise.

Following its impressive showing in the recent World Cup – the stunning wins over England and Pakistan being the high points – Afghanistan has reasons to believe that it has the ammunition to do even better in the shortest format of the game.

A team with fearless batters at the top and an impressive number of all-rounders, Afghanistan’s chances of winning or causing upsets are most in this format. The enhanced self-belief and newly-gained reputation in white ball cricket should give Afghans hope of upstaging India which has a rusty top order.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have not played a single T20I match in 2023. Their last appearance was against England in the T20 World Cup semifinals which India lost by 10 wickets at Adelaide in November 2022.

Another factor that should help Afghanistan’s confidence is the return of Rashid Khan following a lower-back surgery in November. Since Rashid has neither played a T20 since July 2023 nor a game following the surgery, it remains to be seen how he turns up.

A 7 p.m. start here could well the onset of dew early dictating the course of the innings. In the given conditions, toss could become a decisive factor. In any case, a dew-soaked outfield will make life a little more difficult for the fielding team.

On Wednesday, the Indian team will have ‘nets’ under lights and gauge the conditions.