While India will start as firm favourites against Afghanistan, there is no denying that they will have their task cut out against the spin-heavy team.
Asghar Stanikzai & Co. have already sent out a big statement by dismantling Bangladesh in the recently-concluded T20 series against Bangladesh. Afghanistan had whitewashed their fancied opponents 3-0 – and the architect of the win was their spin troika – Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
With the conditions in India likely to assist spinners, India will have to be very careful against the Afghan tweakers.
Moreover, India’s recent track-record against spinners have not been good. The likes of Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe had given the team a lot of trouble last year.
And to ensure the Afghanistan spinners do not pose much of a trouble in the one-off Test, the Indian team-management is taking all sorts of steps.
As per reports, the team-management has called wrist-spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Shivil Kaushik in the nets to prepare for Afghanistan’s spin test. Shashank Kishore, an ESPNcricinfo correspondent, confirmed the news via Twitter, writing:
Shivil Kaushik and Yuzvendra Chahal called in to the India nets. A sign perhaps that the team management wants all their batsmen to face enough wristspin?
— Shashank Kishore (@captainshanky) June 11, 2018
Chahal is an integral part of India’s limited-overs team and has impressed one and all with his leg-spins. On the other hand, Kaushik grabbed the headlines for his unorthodox action.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan skipper Stanikzai has boasted Afghanistan spinners are better than their Indian counterparts.
“The whole world knows that [we have very good spinners in] Rashid Khan, Mujeeb [Ur Rahman], [Mohammad] Nabi, Rahmat [Shah], Zahir [Khan],” Stanikzai had told ESPNcricinfo. “In Afghanistan, the brilliant thing is that a lot of the young talent that is coming through are spinners, because they all follow Rashid, they follow Nabi, so because of that our spin department is very strong from below.
“In my opinion, we have good spinners, better spinners than India,” he had added.
The one-off Test will begin on June 14 in Bengaluru.
