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Afghans aiming to upset heroes
Source: Agencies |
February 27, 2010, Saturday
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AFGHANISTAN will be going to the Twenty20 World Cup in West Indies to do more than just meet their heroes... they want to beat them, teenage wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad has warned.
The Afghans, who qualified for their first major ICC tournament this month, have been drawn with the current top two test-playing nations, India and South Africa, for the first round of the April 30-May 16 tournament.
Although they will be competing against players they have previously idolized from afar, Shahzad said the Afghans would not be cowed by their reputations.
"We have great respect for them, so obviously we will be very keen to prove ourselves against those two teams," the big-hitting 18-year-old told The National newspaper.
"It's cricket and anything can happen, especially in T20. We have seen Ireland knock Pakistan out of the 2007 World Cup and we have beaten Ireland so many times. So it all comes down to how you play -- reputations don't matter on the field. We have a very good team for T20 and our confidence is high. We are not going to the West Indies to socialize, we want to make our nation proud."
Shahzad, who hit an unbeaten 214 as Afghanistan made 494 to beat Canada in a first class match in Sharjah earlier this month, said a personal highlight would be playing against India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the opening match in St Lucia on May 1.
The Afghans, who qualified for their first major ICC tournament this month, have been drawn with the current top two test-playing nations, India and South Africa, for the first round of the April 30-May 16 tournament.
Although they will be competing against players they have previously idolized from afar, Shahzad said the Afghans would not be cowed by their reputations.
"We have great respect for them, so obviously we will be very keen to prove ourselves against those two teams," the big-hitting 18-year-old told The National newspaper.
"It's cricket and anything can happen, especially in T20. We have seen Ireland knock Pakistan out of the 2007 World Cup and we have beaten Ireland so many times. So it all comes down to how you play -- reputations don't matter on the field. We have a very good team for T20 and our confidence is high. We are not going to the West Indies to socialize, we want to make our nation proud."
Shahzad, who hit an unbeaten 214 as Afghanistan made 494 to beat Canada in a first class match in Sharjah earlier this month, said a personal highlight would be playing against India's Mahendra Singh Dhoni in the opening match in St Lucia on May 1.
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