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Cricket Players‘Afghanistan no pushovers. They have better bowling than Sri Lanka, Bangladesh’: Gautam Gambhir warns India
Former India opener Gautam Gambhir said it won't be an easy task for India to go after the Afghanistan bowlers in their must-win Super 12, Group 2 match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Gambhir said Afghanistan have a better bowling attack than the likes of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan's batting may not strike fear into the opposition but their spin-bowling attack comprising Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi is enough to give sleepless nights to any team in the T20 World Cup. Stressing on that point, former India opener Gautam Gambhir said it won't be an easy task for Virat Kohli and Co. to go after the Afghanistan bowlers in their must-win Super 12, Group 2 match in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Gambhir said Afghanistan have a better bowling attack than the likes of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. “Afghanistan aren't pushovers. They've a better bowling attack than the likes of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh,” Gambhir told Star Sports ahead of India vs Afghanistan encounter.
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India's hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals from this group is hanging on a thread. After having suffered confidence-denting defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand in their first two matches, their only option is to win their next three against Afghanistan, Scotland, and Namibia comprehensively and then hope any of these three sides would go on to beat New Zealand, bringing the net run rate into play.
Gambhir said this situation can act as a added motivation to the Indian batters.
“In such a situation when runs are dried up, batters tend to play for their position, which can be extra motivation. Do that and get runs on the board. You try to win first, rather than thinking about the NRR. Once you are in the game, you play according to the situation,” he added.
‘Can’t blame IPL for India's World Cup performance': Gambhir
The IPL came under severe criticism after India pacer Jasprit Bumrah acknowledged that fatigue was one of the reasons for the Men-in-Blue's below-par show in this World Cup so far.
Gambhir, however, disagreed. The former left-hander said it is wrong to blame the IPL for the World Cup debacle so far. The Indian batters did not show enough intent against New Zealand and that has got nothing do with the IPL.
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"You can't blame the IPL. If anything goes wrong with Indian cricket, everyone starts pointing fingers towards the IPL. This is wrong. Sometimes, you have to expect that 2-3 teams are playing better cricket than you. The earlier you accept that, the better it will be for you.
“In the previous game against New Zealand, we weren't brave enough, we were so nervous before the game. What has that got to do with IPL? It was similar in the 2019 World Cup semi-final as well. At that time, we had come to the World Cup after playing in the Indian Premier League as well!” Gambhir added.
The former KKR skipper said IPL is important to give adequate match-practice to players
“Instead, IPL is important because players need adequate match practice. You can't go into the World Cup with 2-3 games of practice and warm-ups,” he said.
