DHARAMSALA, India: Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi hopes his players´ experience of the Indian Premier League and local conditions will stand them in good stead during the World Cup.
With the security situation in their own country meaning visiting teams are reluctant to tour Afghanistan, the team have been based in Noida, near Delhi, for several years. Afghanistan have won just one of their 15 World Cup matches since they joined the tournament in 2015 -- a one-wicket thriller against Scotland in Dunedin eight years ago.
But they begin their involvement at this year´s edition against Bangladesh on Saturday, with Afghanistan looking for their seventh win in 16 one-day internationals against the Tigers. And Shahidi believes the fact several Afghanistan cricketers, including star spinner Rashid Khan, have experienced the high-pressure of the lucrative IPL T20 franchise competition will help them cope with the strains of a World Cup.
"Our players played a lot in IPL and also other players who didn´t play IPL, we also played in these conditions because India was our home," Shahidi told a pre-match press conference on Friday. "So, we know about the conditions and we will take that advantage with us throughout the tournament."
He added: "I think our mindset is different now and as a team and as a leader I am very confident this time in this World Cup...We will try our best to play positive cricket and don´t worry about what happened in the past."
In the corresponding fixture four years ago, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan scored 51 and then took 5-29 with his left-arm spin in a 62-run win, becoming just the second player after India´s Yuvraj Singh to post a fifty and enjoy a five-wicket haul in the same World Cup match.
