Rashid Khan will lead Afghanistan’s spin attack against India in Bangalore on Thursday. (Source: PTI)
Afghanistan seamer Shapoor Zadran might not be featuring in his country’s inaugural Test match against India in Bangalore on Thursday, but he has a warning for the Indian contingent- beware of the threat that their spin battery side possess. Backing star-leg spinner Rashid Khan, IPL sensation Mujeeb Ur Rahman and veteran allrounder Mohammad Nabi, Zadran claimed that the spin-troika are, in his own words, “superman bowlers” who have the ability to conjure up a sensational victory in the historic encounter.
“Our three spinners- Rashid, Nabi and Mujeeb are superman bowlers. They have the ability to turn a match on its head single-handedly. This will allow the captain to attack from both ends continuously. So alarms should be ringing in the Indian dressing room,” Zadran opined in an exclusive interaction with the IndianExpress.com.
“You can see their impact. Whenever I wake up in the morning, I check the news and Rashid, Mujeeb are all over social media. So yes, I think India are already under pressure and we can definitely beat them,” Zadran added.
Rashid Khan is currently ICC’s number one ranked bowler in T20 Internationals but lacks experience in the longer format. So far in his career, he has featured in just four first-class matches but boasts of a stunning tally of 35 wickets in them. Mujeeb Ur Rahman, on the other hand, is yet to play a match at the domestic level.
However, coach Phil Simmons has backed the duo to overcome their inexperience. “Well, we haven’t seen him at all in Test cricket, but in four-day cricket, we haven’t seen him that much. So it’s a new frontier for him. I’m sure he will conquer it, but whether he will conquer it in the first game, we’ll have to see,” Simmons said.