ICC U-19 World Cup: Afghanistan Bolstered by the Inclusion of Two International Stars

Asian minnows Afghanistan who have been rising the ranks quite steadily in international cricket will be bolstered by the presence of two players in the U-19 World Cup who already have international experience under them. Both captain Naveen-ul-Haq and offie Mujeeb Zadran who have been part of the senior Afghanistan team will undoubtedly be the players to watch out for, and Afghanistan will be relying heavily on their services for a successful World Cup campaign. The duo feels that their experience of playing in the senior team will come in very handy for them in the upcoming U-19 World Cup.

“It has been a helpful experience (having played senior international cricket) and will obviously help at the Under-19 level. There is obviously more pressure playing at the senior level, but it is also great for gaining experience.” Zadran said.

Zadran became the first 21^st century born male cricketer to go on to play for his country. He bagged 4/24 in his ODI debut against minnows Ireland just in a month back. He was inducted into the national side riding on exceptional performances in the Asia cup where he topped the bowling charts with 20 wickets which helped Afghanistan clinch the title for the very first time in their history.

“Playing for the senior team in the past will definitely help in the U19 World Cup, especially in terms of handling pressure and being able to play more freely,” Naveen-ul-Haq said.

Barring the two players from Afghanistan Ireland’s Joshua Little has also been part of the Ireland national team having played a couple of T20I’s for Ireland.

We have earlier also witnessed players from the senior team going on to represent their country in the U-19 World Cup. Way back in 1988 it was Indian leggie Narendra Hirwani who played in the inaugural U-19 World Cup in Australia had created a Test record a few days earlier which saw him finish with exceptional figures of 16/136 against the West Indies in his debut Test.

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