Afghanistan’s top batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz said he plans to challenge not only star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah but all Indian bowlers in their upcoming match against India at Kensington Oval, Barbados on June 20, Thursday. Gurbaz is excited to face every Indian bowler in the Super 8s game. He also mentioned that the Afghanistan team is in the tournament to win it, not just to participate. Afghanistan made history by reaching the Super 8s, where they will play against India, Australia, and West Indies.
The Afghanistan team made it to the Super 8s because they played really well in the group stage. They won against Uganda, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea, which allowed them to move forward in the competition. But before the Super 8s, they lost badly, by 104 runs. Gurbaz is one of the top scorers in the tournament. He has scored 167 runs in 4 games, averaging 41.75 runs per game.
The Afghan opening batsman showed a lot of confidence and said he would play aggressively against the Indian openers.
“To be honest, my goal is not just to score against Bumrah. I plan to attack all the bowlers, not just Bumrah, because there are five bowlers in total. I need to face them all, not just Bumrah, and another bowler might get me out. But if I get the opportunity to hit him, I will. It could be Bumrah, Arshdeep, or Siraj. Anyone who bowls where I can hit, I will. Either I’ll get out or I’ll hit them,” Gurbaz said in a video for the ICC.
Gurbaz also confirmed that Afghanistan is participating in the tournament with the goal of winning it, which is clear from how they’ve been playing.
“We’ve been in World Cups before, and we’re here again. The big change is that before, our aim was just to take part, but now our goal is to win the World Cup. We’re not feeling any pressure to win. We’re not setting high expectations, but we’re focusing on each game as it comes. Our aim is to first reach the semi-finals and then the final,” Gurbaz explained.
Afghanistan has never beaten India in T 20 but will look to challenge Men in blue.
