ICC T20 World Cup 2021: 3 Reasons Why Afghanistan Can Beat India In The Group Stage

Afghanistan has from way far to getting qualified to the ICC T20 Worldcup 2021 even without playing the qualifier stages and this is already a massive achievement to them. They are placed seventh in the ICC T20 Rankings at the moment, above two of the powerhouses like Sri Lanka and West Indies.

They will now play against India, Pakistan, and New Zealand in the group stages along with the two qualifying teams from the first round. Afghanistan will certainly be one of the teams to watch out for in the T20 Worldcup 2021 and here are 3 reasons why Afghanistan can beat India in the group stages.

3 Reasons Why Afghanistan Can Beat India In The Group Stage:

Strong Spin Attack:

Afghanistan has had the privilege of one of the best spin attacks in the world with Rashid Khan being the spearhead. They also have the services of Mujeeb Ur Rahman who can be very economical well as he has a lot of variations. Mohammad Nabi has immense experience playing for a lot of T20 franchises in the world, and he can be very good in the powerplay.

These three spinners are high quality and the skipper Rashid Khan, especially has some extraordinary numbers in the format. He is going to be very hard to read and the big UAE grounds will also work in his favour. Rashid Khan and Mujeer Ur Rahman are placed at 2nd and 5th respectively in the ICC T20 international rankings and they have been very successful in the format already.

Excellent Current Form:

Afghanistan has been in excellent form in the last four T20 series after the Cricket Worldcup 2019 and they have also beaten the defending champions West Indies in a three-match T20 international series which is a great positive for them. They will be looking to continue their good form in the T20 Worldcup and gain some confidence to beat big teams like India in the group stages.

Afghanistan after the 2019 Worldcup, started with a tri-nation T20 tournament involving Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and reached the finals comfortably. However, rain played spoilsport and they had to share the trophy with Bangladesh. It was followed by a 2-1 series victory over West Indies in November 2019, then a 2-1 series victory over Ireland in March 2020, and finally, a 3-0 win against Zimbabwe recently in March 2021.

Presence Of Match Winners:

Afghanistan is one of the most underrated teams and they do have a lot of match-winners in their squad with the bat. The youngster Hazratullah Zazai is an exciting talent who has already notched up a 162 not out while Karim Janat has taken his batting to the next level.

The likes of Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, and Rashid Khan form a potent middle order and they can be very effective in T20 formats with their immense experience. Asghar Afghan and Hasmatullah Shahidi are two players who can hold the middle order and can be very attacking as well. These players have the ability to win games on their own and India must be aware of it.