ENG vs AFG: "Best Spinner In The World In This Format" - Liam Livingstone Heaps Praise On Rashid Khan Ahead Of Afghanistan Match

England will play Afghanistan in the opening encounter of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Saturday, October 22. The Jos Buttler-led side will be looking to get their World Cup campaign off to a flying start with a win in the match against the Nabi-led team.

England’s batting line-up includes all the big-hitting batters, with Liam Livingstone set to return ahead of schedule from an injury that looked set to end his World Cup hopes. He will join vice-captain Moeen Ali and young batsman Harry Brooke in the middle order.

Livingstone stated that he expects a challenging match against Afghanistan, who have a variety of match-winners in their repertoire. The 29-year-old believes Afghanistan should be aware of England’s strengths and weaknesses, and he lauded Rashid as the best T20 spinner in the world.

Rashid Khan is The Best Spinner In The World In T20 Format – Liam Livingstone

“Our first game on Saturday is against Afghanistan. At this level, there are no secrets, and every player is aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses – we have a good idea of how Afghanistan will play, and they will know all about us. Take Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, he is a good pal, and we all know what he can do to damage a team with his variations. He is the best spinner in the world in this format.”

Rashid will be one of the players to keep an eye on in the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia. The 24-year-old is one of Afghanistan’s most experienced cricketers and their main wicket-taker in the shorter format. He took 116 wickets in 70 games at an average of 14.04, including two fifers. He also became the fastest bowler to take 100 wickets in T20.

“We know it will be a challenging game, and they have a team full of match-winners. Their form recently in this format has been excellent and they deserve to be here, having qualified outright amongst the best eight teams in the world.”

Rashid also has considerable bowling experience in Australia, having played for the Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League (BBL) since 2017. In the T20 league, he took 92 wickets in 61 games at an average of 16.69.

Also read: IND vs PAK: Ravichandran Ashwin Is Peerless In Red Ball Cricket, But Has Quality Competition In T20s: Sri Lankan Spin Legend Muttiah Muralitharan Makes Big Statement