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.