England batting all-rounder Liam Livingstone is very well aware about the troubles Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan can pose before their opening game of the T20 World Cup on Saturday, October 22. While Livingstone refuses to underestimate Afghanistan, he shared that England are ready to take on them.
Rashid Khan is one of the players to watch out for in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia as well. He is also one of the most experienced Afghan cricketers and he is also their highest wicket-taker in the T20 format.
Currently, he has 116 wickets, including two half-centuries, in 70 games which came at an average of 14.04. He is also the fastest bowler to take 100 T20I wickets as well.
In a blog post on ecb.co.uk, Livingstone stated:
“Our first game on Saturday is against Afghanistan. At this level, there are no secrets, and every player is aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses – we have a good idea of how Afghanistan will play, and they will know all about us. Take Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, he is a good pal, and we all know what he can do to damage a team with his variations. He is the best spinner in the world in this format.”
“We know it will be a challenging game, and they have a team full of match-winners. Their form recently in this format has been excellent and they deserve to be here, having qualified outright amongst the best eight teams in the world,” he continued.
However, Rashid Khan also has bowling experience in Australian conditions as he has played for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League (BBL) since 2017 as well. He has 92 wickets in 61 games which came at an average of 16.69 as well.
“Icing my ankle daily to control the swelling” – Liam Livingstone shares update on his injury
However, after missing some of England’s recent games due to an ankle injury suffered during The Hundred, Liam Livingstone worked hard to return to match fitness. Throwing light on his recovery process, the dashing batter said:
“I feel in a great place after my ankle injury. I have worked tirelessly with England physio Craig de Weymarn to get myself in a position to be fit, and after some intense rehab, I’m ready to play. For the past couple of months, I have been icing my ankle daily to control the swelling and improve my movement and flexibility. Having come through the warm-up in Brisbane against Pakistan last Monday, I am ready for the intensity of a world tournament,” Liam Livingstone concluded.
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