Afghanistan are in rebuilding process: Nabi

Young players received invaluable experience in Pakistan, says captain.

KARACHI:

Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi said his team, currently taking part in the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Premier League, is in a rebuilding phase.

The team was on a 10-day tour in Karachi at the Arabian Country Club, where the players were coached by former Pakistan stalwarts Rashid Latif and Aamir Sohail.

Apart from the two former Pakistani cricketers, Afghanistan’s head coach Kabir Khan was keen on giving the youngsters a chance to play against different departmental and club outfits of Karachi.

In an exclusive interview with The Express Tribune, Nabi stressed that he has included many young players in the ongoing ACC tournament.

“There are some exciting youngsters coming up who have been given a chance to spend time with the seniors in the team,” Nabi told The Express Tribune.

“It’s an important learning curve for them to understand the national team’s culture, dressing room atmosphere and coordinating with the senior players. We want them to get exposure during this camp and show their skills and performances in practice matches.”

Nabi said he felt that the time was right to test some of the upcoming players and those who have performed well with the U19 team.

In his view, the 2015 ODI World Cup offers a big chance to make their mark and for that, Afghanistan want to form a strong team.

According to the captain, the likes of left-handed batsman Mohammad Mujtaba, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Usman Ghani and Amir Hamza Hotak have a bright future and will play important roles for their country in international cricket.

“I hope they have learned a lot from the expertise of Latif and Sohail during the time in Pakistan,” he concluded.

Afghanistan win opening ACC match

Ghani contributed 70 to help Afghanistan claim a clinical six-wicket win over Hong Kong in their first match of the ACC Premier League tournament on Thursday.

Although the right-handed batsman was dismissed in the 26th over, Hashmatallah Shaidi (38) and Samiullah Shenwari (43) did their bit to achieve the 217-run target with 41 balls to spare.

Earlier, Hong Kong openers got off to a solid start with a 60-run partnership. However, they lost regular wickets which stemmed the flow of runs. Babar Hayat (53) struck six fours and two sixes in his half-century, which helped get Hong Kong to a respectable total of 216. Amir Hamza was the pick of the bowlers with three wickets.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd,  2014.

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