T20 World Cup 2021: Muttiah Muralitharan Feels Afghanistan Can Be The "Dark Horses" Of The Tournament
Published - 30 Oct 2021, 01:09 AM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 01:00 AM
Former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan believes that Afghanistan can be a “real threat” if their spinners enjoy as much success as they did in their opening game versus Scotland.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked a five-wicket haul and Rashid Khan snapped four wickets to give their side a massive 130-run win to kickstart their T20 World Cup campaign.
Muttiah Muralitharan has been left “amazed” by the Afghan spinners – Mujeeb, Rashid, and skipper Mohammad Nabi.
“I have been amazed by the Afghanistan spinners, they have been the pick of the bowlers so far for me,” Muttiah Muralitharan said in an ICC release.
“It is true that they were perhaps playing one of the weaker teams but the way Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan bowled against Scotland was incredible – the batters were mesmerised. If they can bowl like that in other matches, then they can be a real threat,” he added.
They remind me a bit of Sri Lanka when we won the World Cup in 1996: Muttiah Muralitharan
Muttiah Muralitharan further waxed lyrical on the Afghanistan team, stating they are similar to the 1996 World Cup-winning Sri Lanka side.
“In some ways, they remind me a bit of Sri Lanka when we won the 50-over ICC Men’s World Cup in 1996. It is too soon to tell really but if their three spinners bowl well, you never know what could happen,” he said.
When I think back to 1996, we had a lot of experienced batters and then some good young bowlers. The conditions helped us, we were very strong at home throughout the 1990s and we knew how to play the conditions. It was not a fluke, we had the talent.”
The legendary Sri Lankan spinner reckons Afghanistan, with all their talented players could well be the dark horses of the tournament.
“The same is true of Afghanistan, you have Mohammad Nabi who has been playing for a long time and then some promising young batters – Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmanullah Gurbaz did well against Scotland.
“That is without even considering the spinners. In the short form, they have a lot of experience from playing franchise cricket. So I do not see why they cannot be dark horses in this tournament,” the 49-year-old asserted.
Afghanistan will meet table-topper Pakistan on Friday evening in Dubai. A victory for Mohammad Nabi’s side will pile pressure on Indian and New Zealand.
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