Asghar Afghan has pointed out India’s weakness heading into the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next month. Former Afghanistan skipper feels the Men in Blue’s middle-order is not strong enough after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and top-tier teams can pose challenges to them.
Kohli and Rohit have scored the bulk of runs for India in the shortest format of the game. In the T20Is, they sit at the top two positions in the highest run getters list, and in ODIs as well, they have scored close to 10000 runs. They have the game that can turn the match and take it away from the opposition at any point.
Asghar Afghan feels all around the world make similar strategies against India’s opener and number three batter because they feel if they get rid of the duo early, then half of the Indian team is finished. Speaking on the sidelines of the Legends League Cricket, Afghan said:
“Whenever we played against India, our plan used to be around Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. We used to say ‘get them out, half of Indian team is finished’. The whole world plans against these two big players like this only. They can win matches single-handedly.
“Our plan was always to attack them in the beginning, because if we can’t get them out in the beginning, then it is very difficult to trouble them. Especially Virat Kohli. He is a very busy player. When he is set, it is very difficult to dislodge him.”
“Main reason for their losses in the Super 4 stage was the injury to Ravindra Jadeja” – Asghar Afghan on why India lost in Asia Cup
Despite the presence of both Rohit and Virat in the side, Team India was unable to do well in the recently concluded Asia Cup. Asghar Afghan feels that the main reason for India’s failure to reach the final was an injury to Ravindra Jadeja, which disturbed the team’s balance.
“On paper, they were the best team to win the Asia Cup. The kind of balance they had was great. But perhaps they took things a little light but the main reason for their losses in the Super 4 stage was the injury to Ravindra Jadeja. It really affected the balance of their side,” he added.
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