‘This is just the beginning for us’ - Rashid vows Afghanistan will come back stronger

Less than 48 hours after securing the most important win in the country’s history, Afghanistan suffered humiliation at the hands of South Africa in their first ever semi-final appearance in World Cups at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on June 26 (Wednesday).

Afghanistan got what they wanted at the toss as they opted to bat, but, on the night, were blown away by a combination of great seam bowling from South Africa and brutal conditions for batting. They got bowled out for their lowest ever T20I total, 56, which was chased down by the Proteas in just 53 balls.

Speaking after the game, Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan acknowledged that it was a very tough night for his men. 

“It was tough, tough for us as a team. We might have done better but the conditions didn't allow us to do what we wanted. That's how T20 cricket is, you need to be ready for all conditions,” Rashid said at the post-match presentation.

“I think they bowled really well. I think we got good success in this tournament because the seamers bowled really well, you need good starts.”

No side wishes to endure humiliation on such a big stage, but Rashid vowed that his team will bounce back stronger, now that they’ve got a taste of success. The skipper asserted that, if Afghanistan manage to keep the process intact, they’ll keep getting stronger and stronger.

“We will accept playing a semi-final and losing to a top side like Africa. It is just the beginning for us, we have the confidence and belief to beat any side. We just need to keep our processes. This has been a great learning experience for us. 

“What we take from the competition is the belief. We know we have the skills, it is just about managing tough situations, pressure situations.”

He admitted at the same time, however, that there is still a lot of work to be done, especially in the batting department. In this T20WC, the two openers, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, accounted for nearly 60% of Afghanistan’s total runs. It was a complete no-show from the middle-order, which once again was unable to step up in the semis as well.

“Some work to be done, specially in the middle order to take the innings deep. As I said, it is always learning for our team and we have achieved good results so far but we will come back doing more hard work, specially in the batting department,” Rashid said.

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