Ahead of Legends League cricket, former Afghanistan veteran, Asghar Afghan, shares his thoughts on India’s performance in the Asia Cup, 2022.
The veteran has arrived in India to be part of Legends League cricket. He will represent Indian capitals led by Gautam Gambhir. Asghar was the first captain to represent Afghanistan on a global level. He was leading his side across all three formats at the time. Midway through the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, he announced his retirement from international cricket. He said he wanted to make way for youngsters in the team. Legends League is all set to begin on the 17th of September, and before that, Asghar sat down for an interview with Hindustan Times where he shared his views on the recently concluded Asia Cup.
Our plan used to be around Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli
Asghar was asked about Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma‘s approach in the T20s. He responded that both are important members of the Indian team. There will be talk when they are out of form, but both together can make a difference of 60-70 runs in the team’s total on any given day. They have the ability and potential to win games for the team single-handedly.
“When a cricketer doesn’t perform, there will be talks. But 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. We used to believe that if we get both of them out early then about 100-120 runs would be less from India’s total in an ODI and about 60-70 runs in a T20I”
Asghar Afghan feels India took things lightly in the Asia Cup
The Afghani veteran further added that despite being the best team on paper, India failed to qualify for the final of the Asia Cup. He feels India took things lightly and frequent injuries in the camp made things worse for them.
“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 also urged Indian supporters to back the team for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. He says that one tournament loss does not make them a bad team. They stand a fair chance in Australia.
“India should support their players and the team. It’s not like they are a bad team just because they didn’t do well in Asia Cup. These are part and parcel of the game. The World Cup is coming, and India have a very good chance”
