India will undoubtedly be the favourites against Afghanistan in the one-off Test starting on Saturday. Afghanistan, the giant slayers of white-ball cricket, have played only 10 Tests. Starting their journey with a two-day loss to India in 2018, Afghanistan have since played against teams such as Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, West Indies, Ireland and Bangladesh. Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said that the team needs more exposure against the top nations to become a force in Test cricket.
“We played against India in 2018, but we will enter this match with more experience now. We need to play a lot of Test cricket, and need to have more opportunities in future to build a good team. The most we have is playing domestic tournaments with the red ball. To face tough teams, we need to have good exposure,” he said.
“We don’t have much experience, but we are not like someone who won’t accept the challenge and won’t fight. We have a natural talent, and this game will be a challenge for us, we will try to fight,” he added.
Shahidi is by far Afghanistan’s best Test batter with two double hundreds and a healthy average of 48 plus. In the absence of veterans Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, the left-hander will shoulder the responsibility of proving Afghanistan’s aspirations.
“Most of our players play in franchise leagues. They are very good when it comes to league cricket. If one goes by our overall record, we have achieved a lot in white-ball cricket in the last couple of years. However, the best format in cricket is Test. In our case, we have just started,” he said. “I have scored two Test double hundreds. So I can say we have patience and discipline to succeed in this format. But we need to play more,” he added.
