Afghanistan skipper Hashmat Shahidi says Wednesday’s ICC Champions Trophy match against England will be a challenge but that the team “has worked hard to reach the level they are at” and are ready to play every game “with confidence”.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, he said the team “will try their best to beat them again”. This was in reference to their win over England in 2023.
According to him, the team will try to put in a better effort with the bat in Wednesday’s match after their 107-run defeat against South Africa last week.
For Afghanistan and England this is a high-stakes match as both teams hope for their first win in this tournament.
With India and New Zealand having already booked their berths in the semi-finals from Group A, all eyes will now be on Group B. All four teams – Afghanistan, Australia, South Africa and England – are still in the fray.
Shahidi meanwhile welcomed recent comments by former cricketers and commentators lauding Afghanistan’s achievements but pointed out that even though some experts have said the team stands a good chance of securing a berth in the semifinals they still have to work hard.
Shahidi noted that it was the world’s top eight teams in the tournament and that it was a tough challenge for them. He said: “We have to give our 100%” on the day if we want to beat these teams.
In conclusion, the skipper said while good spin bowlers alone could not win a match, he is sure the team’s batters “will come back stronger” for Wednesday’s game.
Wednesday’s match in Lahore will start at 1:30pm and will be broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana Television. The pre-match show will start at 12:30pm.
