Afghanistan skipper Rahmat Shah believes his side will be the favourites to win the upcoming tri-nation series in the UAE, citing their familiarity with the conditions.
Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan will take part in the tri-series, which begins in Abu Dhabi on October 17.
Rahmat said Afghanistan would draw confidence from their recently concluded one-off Test against Bangladesh, in which they fought back from a difficult position to secure a draw.
“I think Afghanistan would be the favourite team here because we’ve been playing all our games in the UAE, and the majority of the games in Abu Dhabi or Sharjah. So, I think we have more advantages considering the home conditions here,” Rahmat told reporters ahead of the tri-series in Abu Dhabi on Friday.
“I would not say that they are not good teams, but yeah, all the teams have prepared themselves well for this event and, yeah, it’s going to be a good event,” he said.
Reflecting on the Test, Rahmat described the result as a significant moment for Afghanistan, particularly given the position they found themselves in before the final stages of the match.
“To say about the Test game, what I feel is that it was one of the historic games, from where we fought back. We were struggling in between, and then, in the last one and a half days, the way the batters batted, credit goes to all the boys, especially the batters who batted well throughout, in the heat we were having there. In such a game, when Bangladesh was having the upper hand, to bounce back and end up with a draw is a great achievement,” he said.
Rahmat added that the result would provide Afghanistan with a boost heading into the ODI series.
“So, it’s obvious that the Test draw is going to give us a good boost and confidence for the ODI games,” he said.
The Afghanistan skipper also welcomed the return of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, saying their presence would strengthen the side. Rashid was rested for the Test against Bangladesh as part of his workload management.
“Both the players, Nabi and Rashid, are world-class players and they have proved it to everyone. Especially Rashid Khan, whenever we have played any Test games in which we have won, he’s been a major cause for it because he’s always achieved the benchmark of receiving the Man of the Match award,” Rahmat said.
“Especially Rashid, not having him in the Test squad, we missed him. But, yeah, having them for the ODIs is going to be a great advantage for us. They are world-class players, as I mentioned earlier,” he added.
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza, who attended the press conference after Rahmat, also felt Afghanistan would enjoy an advantage given their familiarity with the conditions.
“I always think that the home side always has that extra advantage, and rightly so, because Afghanistan has played a lot of cricket in these conditions,” Raza said.
Zimbabwe arrived in the UAE only two days before the press conference and had completed two training sessions. However, Raza felt all three teams had a realistic chance of winning the tournament.
“We only arrived two days ago, so this is our second training session. But having said that, regardless of who I think is the favourite, any team who plays good cricket will have a great chance of winning, and I think all three teams have a fairly good chance to win the tournament,” he said.
“So I wouldn’t say there’s a clear-cut favourite, but I would say that these are Afghanistan’s home conditions, and they certainly have an extra advantage,” he added.
Bangladesh captain Litton Kumar Das, the first of the three captains to attend the media briefing, pointed to the added pressure of playing a tri-series, where teams have little room for error from the outset.
“I have been playing for a long time, but my experience of tri-series is very limited,” Litton said.
“When you play a tri-series, there is extra pressure because all three teams have the same target: to reach the final. In a bilateral series, even if you lose the first match, you still have a chance to level the series, and then there can be a decider. But in a tri-series, losing the first match can put you on the back foot, and net run rate also comes into play,” he said.
