ICC World Cup 2023 team preview - Afghanistan

The rise of Afghanistan as a cricketing nation has just been amazing. They were not even qualified for the 2011 World Cup (which had 14 teams) as they were not even among the top 4 Associate nations. But now, they are a test nation having attained that status in 2018.

They have a formidable opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran who can take the opposition bowlers to attack. Riaz Hasan is the backup opener. Gurbaz is the more aggressive batter and takes the game away within a few overs; Ibrahim Zadran is more of an accumulator and attacks when he is set.

The middle order comprises the ever-reliant Rahmat Shah, skipper Hasmatullah Shahidi, and Najibullah Zadran. Shah, Shahidi, and Najib can play the middle overs keep the scoreboard ticking, and set the platform for the next batters to come. Ikram Ali Khil can be used as a backup middle-order player. Shah and Shahidi can play the spinners very well and Najib can be an attacker in the middle overs.

The task of finishing will be shared by Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, and Azmatullah Omarzai. Nabi is a big hitter of the ball and can also rotate the strike. Azmatulah Omarzai and Rashid Khan can provide the late impetus to the innings. Rashid, in particular, has been in great touch in batting and hitting sixes.

The wicket-keeping duties will be carried out by Rahmanullah Gurbaz. Ibrahim Zadran will act as a backup keeper along with being the spare batter in the team.

The fast bowling will be led by the left-armer Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq. The other pacers in the team include Abdul Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai. Farooqi and Naveen already have the experience of playing in the Indian conditions during last year's IPL. Abdul Rahman will be the backup pacer and Omarzai will lend the balance to the side with his batting ability.

The spin contingent of the Afghanistan team will be on of the strongest spin attacks in the tournament. They have Rashid Khan, who has been one of the most successful bowlers ever in IPL, as their lead spinner. They also have the control offered by the ever-reliant Mohammad Nabi who ties the one end up in the middle overs. They have the exciting Noor Ahmad who will be playing his first World Cup but already has tasted success in the Indian conditions in the last IPL. Last, but not least, Mujeeb ur Rahman offers the ability to bowl with control in the power playovers on in the death overs. Overall, their spin attack is really a challenge for any big team.

Expectations: They will most probably finish the tournament somewhere in the middle of the table.

15-man squad

Batsmen

Hashmatullah Shahidi(captain)
Ibrahim Zadran
Najibullah Zadran
Riaz Hassan

Wicket Keepers

Rahmanullah Gurbaz
Ikram Alikhil

All-Rounders

Mohammad Nabi
Rahmat Shah
Rashid Khan
Azmatullah Omarzai

Bowlers

Fazalhaq Farooqi
Naveen-ul-Haq
Abdul Rahman
Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Noor Ahmad

Probable Playing XI:

1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz(WK)
2. Ibrahim Zadran
3. Rahmat Shah
4. Hashmatullah Shahidi
5. Najibullah Zadran
6. Mohammad Nabi
7. Azmatullah Omarzai
8. Rashid Khan
9. Mujeeb Ur Rahman
10. Fazalhaq Farooqi
11. Naveen-ul-Haq/Noor Ahmad

ICC World Cup 2023 team preview - The Netherlands

The format of this World Cup is such that it is highly difficult for the Associate teams to qualify. But against all odds, the Netherlands has made it to the biggest event. Their qualification means that the 2-time champion and the most dominant side of the early ODI days will no longer be part of the World Cup. Nevertheless, the Netherlands deserves to be here and did so in a great fashion.

Now, coming to what they can do at the biggest stage. They have a pretty settled top order of Vikramjit Singh, Max O'Dowd, and Wesley Baressi; they might not be as aggressive as the other teams in the tournament, but they certainly have the ability to lay a good foundation for the middle order and the lower order to build on it.

The middle order was bit of problem, but with the recent exploits of 2 of their most promising players - Teja Nidamanuru and Bas de Leede, they seem to have found the solution. Nidamanuru and de Leede have been scoring big runs of late and they recently scored a century each in the World Cup qualifiers. Colin Ackermann is another amazing player with a good record. He might still not be able to make it to the first-choice playing xi, but his experience will certainly be of great help at some stage in the tournament. 

Skipper Scott Edwards will be playing the role of the finisher. He has all the shots in his book to take the team to a good total. Roelof van der Merwe would lend him the support in the final overs. It would great help to these 2 if the other other lower order players step up in the finishing role. Edwards also doubles up as the wicket-keeper and Baressi will be his backup behind the stumps.

Logan van Beek will be leading the pace attack which also consists of the exciting Ryan Klein and Paul van Meekeren. de Leede will also add to that attack, as his pace will be a good addition to the pace attack. 

In the Indian conditions, their spin strength will definitely be tested. Their spin attack has a good variety with the likes of Shariz Ahmed, Aryan Dutt, Roelof van der Merwe, and Saqib Zulfiqar. The experience of van der Merwe will give them an advantage in the spinning conditions. If the conditions favor spin, they might even go with 3 spinners in the paying xi in addition to the part-time spin of players like Ackermann and Nidamanuru.

They also have an uncapped player, Sybrand Engelbrecht, who has experience of playing in South African domestic cricket. He can be a utility player in both batting and bowling.

Expectations: They will certainly not be able to make it to the top 4, but the fact that they made it this far in itself is a great achievement. They are expected to finish in the bottom 2.

15-man Squad:

Batsmen

Max O'Dowd
Vikramjit Singh
Teja Nidamanuru

Wicket Keepers

Scott Edwards(captain)
Wesley Barresi

All-Rounders

Colin Ackermann
Bas de Leede
Saqib Zulfiqar
Roelof van der Merwe
Sybrand Engelbrecht

Bowlers

Aryan Dutt
Ryan Klein
Shariz Ahmad
Logan van Beek
Paul van Meekeren

Possible playing XI:

1. Vikramjit Singh
2. Max O'Dowd
3. Wesley Barresi
4. Bas de Leede
5. Teja Nidamanuru
6. Scott Edwards(C & WK)
7. Saqib Zulfiqar
8. Roelof van der Merwe
9. Ryan Klein
10. Shariz Ahmad/Aryan Dutt
11. Logan van Beek

Red-hot Siraj guides India to 8th Asia Cup title

 The Asia Cup 2023 had lots of twists and turns, and the rain too was always there to keep everyone on the edge of their seats and calculate the scenarios for their teams to qualify for the finals.

Finally, when the final match started, everyone expected it to be a cracker of a game, but Mohammed Siraj had other plans. He ripped through the top-order and the middle-order of Sri Lanka in the most incredible way. The spell reading 7-1-21-6 was certainly one of the best ever in the Asia Cup history. His spell included an over in which he took 4 wickets, thus becoming the first Indian ever to take 4 wickets in an over in ODIs.

Right from the first over, the Indian team looked in complete control;. Jasprit Bumrah provided the first breakthrough with the 4th ball of the first over getting Kusal Perera caught by the keeper, KL Rahul. Siraj followed suit with the first ball of the 4th over, taking the wicket of Pathum Nissanka, and he soon took 2 more wickets with the 3rd and 4th ball of the same over accounting for Sadeera Samarawickrama and Charith Asalanka. He missed his hat-trick of the next ball and then off the last ball of the 4th over, he took the wicket of Dhananjaya de Silva taking his edge to the keeper. In his very next over, Siraj completed his maiden 5-wicket hall by cleaning up Dasun Shanaka's stumps. At this time, Sri Lanka was 12 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. Medis and the new man Dunith Wellalage briefly defended the ball and avoided giving the wickets, but again Siraj took the wicket of Kusal Medis uprooting his stumps and putting India in the dominating position. Then the pace of Hardik Pandya got the better of the last 3 batters thus ending the Sri Lankan innings to 50 runs in 15.2 overs. This is Sri Lanka's 2nd lowest total in their ODI history.

India's chase started, and this time Rohit Sharma, did not come out to bat, instead sent the exciting Ishan Kishan along with the in-form Shubhman Gill to open the innings. The young openers chased the total in just 6.1 overs scoring 9 boundaries between them, and took India to their 8th Asia Cup title

India, Pakistan set to resume the biggest rivalry in cricket

India and Pakistan will face each other in the group stage of Asia Cup 2023. This will be the first ODI between the two arch-rivals since the encounter in the 2019 World Cup, also also the first of a possible round of matches between these two sides in this Asia Cup and the upcoming World Cup. They are certain to play at least 3 matches, and possibly 4 or even 5 matches if they meet the final of the Asia Cup and a knock-out(Semi-final or final match of the World Cup.

India undoubtedly has the best lineup in this Asia Cup and Pakistan possibly has the best fast-bowling unit in this tournament. India is known for producing the best of the batters and Pakistan is always the home for genuine fast bowlers. This match would present a great contest between the Indian batters and the Pakistani bowlers. The sight of seeing might of Rohit Sharma, Shubhman Gill, and Virat Kohli facing the thunderbolts from Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Haris Rauf keeps one glued to the screen.

The weather for the day does not look great, as there are some chances of rain and we could see a delayed start of the match. The team winning the toss would probably look to bowl first and make use of the cloudy conditions in the early hour.

The top order of both the teams picks themselves, India has a top-order of Rohit Sharma, Shubhman Gill, and Virat Kohli, and Pakistan has Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, and Babar Azam as their top 3. The middle order is something that both the teams would like to do better; India's No.4 and No.5 are Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul and both of them are coming from long injuries. Iyer is match-fit, but Rahul is not yet fit to play the first two matches of this tournament and Ishan Kishan would play in his place. The No.6 and No.7 would be occupied by the all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, both of whom are known for making quick runs. Pakistan has Mohammad Rizwan as their designated No.4. Their No.5 and No.6 are the two new faces, Agha Salman and Iftikhar Ahmed, and both of them are coming off form behind them. Shadab Khan comes in at No.7; Although he has played some good knocks, that seems to be a spot higher for him. Mohammad Nawaz follows Shahab in the batting order, or if they opt for a fast-bowling all-rounder, they can play Faheem Ashraf at that place. The biggest question for India would be to go with Shardul Thakur and strengthen their batting till 8 or go with both Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami; Playing Thakur would mean one of Siraj or Shami would not be able to play, and based on current form Siraj would pip Shami. Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah are certain to play as the first-choice spinner and fast bowler respectively. Pakistan has a formidable pace battery of Shaheen Afridi, Nasem Shah, and Haris Rauf.

Probable XIs:
India:
Rohit Sharma (c), Shubhman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan(wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
Pakistan: 

Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam(c), Mohammad Rizwan(wk), Agha Salman, Iftekhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf