ICC World Cup 2019: Afghanistan Can be the Dark Horse in the Quadrennial Event Feels Colin Munro
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There is no doubt about the fact that New Zealand opener Colin Munro is one of the most swashbuckling batsmen of the modern generation. He is among those two batsmen who have scored 3 centuries in T20I cricket. However, Colin Munro has been a prolific run scorer even in first-class cricket. He averages 51.58 in first-class cricket.

But he has decided to give up red ball cricket in order to concentrate more on the shorter formats of the game. After making the decision, Munro is not leaving any opportunities to play white ball cricket. He will turn up for the Balkh Legends in the Afghanistan Premier League.

“To give up First Class cricket was a tough decision and I have been thinking about it for the last couple of years,” Munro, was quoted as saying by The Hindu. “It wasn’t easy to give up 10 years of First Class cricket and about 50 matches, but I wasn’t getting the rewards I wanted.” Munro further added that he wants to focus on the 2019 World Cup. He feels that New Zealand will do well in English conditions. The Kiwis played well in England earlier and hopes to put up an impressive performance.

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Colin Munro feels Afghanistan can be the dark horse for the 2019 World Cup. (Image Courtesy: Getty Images)

Colin Munro feels Afghanistan can be the dark horse for the 2019 World Cup

“I think New Zealand would play well in the conditions of England, where we have had successes in the past,” he said. “England, West Indies and India too have good chances in what I think will be a hotly contested World Cup, with all teams playing one another once.”

Meanwhile, Afghanistan has been a surprise package in the limited overs format in the recent past. They have come close to beating many great teams. They were quite impressive in the Asia Cup where they defeated Bangladesh and Sri Lanka and tied a match against India. Colin Munro feels Afghanistan have some great players in their ranks and could turn out to be a dark horse in the tournament in England.

“They have match-winners with both bat and ball, and they have shown what they could do at the recent Asia Cup,” he said. “I feel the APL would help their cricketers greatly. Rubbing shoulders with some of the best cricketers in the world will be beneficial for them.” Munro further added that he was pretty impressed with a couple of young Afghanistan players with whom he has practised ahead of the ongoing Afghanistan Premier League.

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Colin Munro feels New Zealand will play well in English conditions in the 2019 World Cup. (Image Courtesy: Getty Images)

“And they have already begun asking me questions,” he said. “And I will be happy if a couple of young Afghan cricketers gain something by working with players like me at the APL.” Meanwhile, Munro has a lot of respect for the established stars of Afghanistan like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Mohammad Shehzad.  “Rashid has been brilliant,” he said. “He could turn the ball even on the state highway.”

A Cricket Expert who loves revolving his life around the game. An extremely passionate music lover who loves singing and listening to Arijit Singh songs.