Afghanistan skipper Rashid Khan intends to take it one game at a time in the team’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, which will get underway on Tuesday in the West Indies.

Given their arsenal of high-class spin bowlers and the improvement in Afghanistan’s batting in recent years, many have touted the Asian side as one of the teams capable of making it to the semi-finals of this year’s T20 World Cup.

While appreciative of these predictions, Rashid said he wants to focus on the cricketing action. Rashid said it was a big honor for the team to be seen as one of the favorites to make the semi-finals.

“They have mentioned Afghanistan is going to be there for semis,” Rashid said. “We take that as a very positive sign.”

He also said looking back at his team’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup campaign in India last year, the players believe that nothing was impossible for them as a side.

In last year’s tournament, Afghanistan defeated the likes of Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and England, and ran eventual champions Australia close.

“But for us, we don’t look to those things a lot. It’s all about how we’re going to be there in the ground, delivering. We were very near in the last World Cup as well to be in the semis.

“We were just one game away from being in the semis and that’s where I feel like the belief started that nothing is impossible for us as a team. So yeah, looking forward we are really excited about this World Cup. We take one game at a time and then see how it goes.”

Rashid was confident of Afghanistan’s groundwork prior to the tournament.

“I think preparation has been great so far. The way the guys have been prepared, and they had that preparation back home in Afghanistan,” he said.

“A couple of weeks back, we had a domestic T20 competition, which really helped them to get that kind of preparation they need as a player and as a team. And then we’re here two weeks earlier as well. So, we got that full preparation, what we wanted as a team.

“We’re just about focusing on one game at a time and making sure we do the right things and take the right decisions at the right time. That’s something I think is going to help us.

“And don’t think about the next round a lot. That’s something which is an extra pressure I feel like to be as a player.”

Afghanistan begin their T20 World Cup campaign against Uganda in Guyana. Both sides are in Group C of the competition along with West Indies, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

WATCH LIVE!

Ariana Television Network recently secured the exclusive rights to broadcast the exciting T20 World Cup 2024 live in Afghanistan.

Fans around the country can tune in on Wednesday morning, June 4, at 4:30 am to watch the pre-match show followed by the match which starts at 5am Kabul time.

Namibia scored a nerve-shredding victory over Oman in their T20 World Cup Group B clash in Barbados on Sunday after a low-scoring thriller was decided by a super over.

David Wiese was the hero for Namibia, contributing 13 runs in his team’s super over total of 21 before restricting Oman to 10 runs with the ball in hand to seal a crucial win at Kensington Oval.

The match had gone to a decisive extra over after a tense duel saw both teams finish with 109 runs from their allotted 20 overs, AFP reported.

Oman had looked to be heading for defeat after a superb four-wicket bowling display from Ruben Trumpelmann saw them all out for 109 off 19.4 overs.

But Oman’s bowlers responded with a disciplined performance to contain Namibia’s bats, with Mehran Khan conjuring a superb spell to leave the match on a knife edge.

Khan finished with figures of three wickets for seven runs off three overs.

The veteran Oman bowler took two wickets in the final over to frustrate Namibia, who had needed just five runs from the over to clinch victory.

But Khan was bizarrely overlooked for the super over bowling duties by Oman, with Bilal Khan handed the ball instead.

That move backfired spectacularly, though, with Wiese blasting a four off the first ball and then crushing a full toss for six off Khan’s second delivery.

Wiese took three more runs off the next two balls before Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus hit back-to-back fours to set Oman a daunting victory target of 22 off their super over.

Wiese took over the bowling duties for Namibia and after conceding just two runs from his first two deliveries, took the wicket of Naseem Khushi.

Two more singles left Oman needing 18 from the last delivery to win, meaning Wiese could allow Zeeshan Maqsood to blast a six knowing victory was assured.

“I definitely aged a couple of years tonight,” the 39-year-old Wiese said. “And I don’t have a lot of years left in me. It was an emotionally draining evening.”

Wiese said he had been confident of steering Namibia to victory with bat and ball in the super over, AFP reported.

“It helped that I had a feel of the game and knew if I get a few hits out in the Super Over …. then with the ball, felt like taking the ball and executing.

“The pitch was difficult and didn’t play the way we thought. But we adapted well.”

Oman captain Aqib Ilyas was left lamenting an agonising near-miss — but defended the decision to opt for Bilal as the super over bowler over the in-form Khan.

“I think Bilal is one of the best bowlers you can have at this level,” Aqib said. “But there are days where you plan and it doesn’t execute.

“He was clear, we were clear, but maybe the ball was wet and he couldn’t execute.”

Earlier, Trumpelmann had given Namibia a dream start with two wickets from the first two deliveries of the match, part of a four-wicket performance. Wiese also impressed in the regulation 20 overs with 3-28 off 3.4 overs.

Namibia made hard work of the run chase, however, with Jan Frylinck (45) and Niko Davin (24) top scoring as the southern Africans came up just short of their victory target.

Aaron Jones struck an explosive unbeaten 94 from 40 balls as the USA beat Canada by seven wickets in the opening game of the T20 World Cup on Saturday.

Jones, born in New York but raised in Barbados, bludgeoned the Canadian attack, smashing ten sixes as he totally changed the momentum of the game in a superb 131-run third wicket partnership with Andries Gous.

Jones took full control in the 13th over when he went on the attack against the slow left-arm of Canada captain, Saad Bin Zafar, smashing three sixes in one over, AFP reported.

Then the game shifted decisively towards the Americans when Jeremy Gordon’s medium-fast seamers went for 33 off one disastrous over, with the Canadian adding to his misery with three wides and two no-balls, including a no-ball that canceled out a potential dismissal of Gous.

Former South Africa Under-19 batsman Gous made 65 off 46 balls before he holed out to deep midwicket off Nikhil Dutta, ending a partnership that had taken the Americans from struggling at 42-2 in the seventh over to close to their finish line at 173-3 in the 16th.

Corey Anderson, the former New Zealand allrounder, came in to accompany Jones who fittingly ended the contest with his 10th sixth of the night.

It was the perfect start to the tournament for the co-hosts, with the crowd at the compact Grand Prairie Stadium roaring with delight as Jones smashed the Canadian attack around the ground.

“I don’t think it is easy to put it into words,” said Jones, whose 10 sixes are the second most in a T20 World Cup innings behind West Indian Chris Gayle’s 11 against England in 2016.

“With our batting line-up, we knew anything under 200 is chaseable. I go through my processes and I like my power hitting. I know if I get it in the middle, it will go for sure. I like to come in when the team is under pressure, it brings out the best in me,” he said.

Canada, also making their T20 World Cup debut, had set what appeared a challenging target with Navneet Dhaliwal making a well-paced 61 off 44 balls, including six four and three sixes after opener Aaron Johnson had set the early pace with an aggressive 23 off 16 balls.

Nicholas Kirton maintained the momentum in the back half of the innings with 51 off 31 balls and Shreyas Movva’s 32 off 16 was crucial in getting Canada to what looked to be a strong total in the Group A match before Jones wreaked havoc.

“We started well, But Jones and Gous batted exceptionally. Our bowlers had no chance,” said skipper Bin Zafar.

“Our bowlers missed their lines and lengths, and we shouldn’t have given away the no-balls and extras. We played an exceptional game overall. Nothing to be sad about, the effort from the boys was good. This is just the start and hope we can do well in the next game,” he said.

The USA is co-hosting the tournament with the West Indies with 16 of the group stage games being held in three American venues – South Florida and New York along with Dallas.

India, Pakistan and Ireland are also competing in Group A with two nations qualifying for the Super Eight stage.

Broadcasting news!

Ariana Television Network (ATN) has secured the rights to broadcast this year’s T20 World Cup in Afghanistan.

News, updates and information on the event will be published regularly on Ariana News website and digital platforms so be sure to stay tuned.