Abu Dhabi: Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss and opted to bat first against Namibia in a Super 12 match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, here Sunday.
Afghanistan, who had lost to Pakistan in their last match, made one change as Hamid Hassan came in place of unfit Mujeeb Ur Rahman for this match.
“We’ll bat first. The wicket looks really good to bat on. Feeling really good after the performance in the last game. A lot of plus points, the boys played really well,” said Nabi at the toss.
Former skipper Asghar Afghan is representing Afghanistan for the last time in international cricket today. Talking about him, Nabi said, “Asghar’s service in the last 16 years has been great. He has promoted a lot of cricket for Afghanistan.”
On the other hand, the Gerhard Erasmus-led Namibia didn’t make any change in their team for this clash.
“A great opportunity for our bowlers to put them under pressure. Looks like a good wicket with wind blowing across. We have planned the same as we planned against Sri Lanka. We are not playing the bowler, we are only playing the ball. We are not going to spend energy on the opposition and are instead going to focus on our strengths,” said Erasmus at the toss.
Playing XI:
Namibia: Craig Williams, Michael van Lingen, Zane Green(w), Gerhard Erasmus(c), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Pikky Ya France, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz.
Afghanistan: Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad(w), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi(c), Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Hamid Hassan, Naveen-ul-Haq.