Afghanistan take the field and the cricketing world cheers them on. There is a certain joy in their game, the freedom of baring it all out on a cricket field which makes the side endearing fraternity follow their trail. They had to qualify for the main event and now, they are here, with the big boys, and in many ways, can be the biggest giant slayers of this season.

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF ICC CRICKET WORLD CUP 2019

Their biggest strength is the highly-skilled spinners, but it is not all about them. The batting order on their day can be explosive and with the return of Hamid Hassan, the pace department will also be bolstered. Yes, Australia enter the game as overwhelming favourites, but they will not take the threat of these Afghans lightly.

“Obviously, we have a great spin department... It depends on the wicket tomorrow. I know Australia cricket team have players that are world-class but it [will] depend on the day, how our main bowlers bowl to them. I have confidence in my team and also the players, how we prepared for the last one year, so I hope we do our best,” skipper Gulbadin Naib said on the eve of the match.

Here is the predicted XI of Afghanistan for the match against Australia:

Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib (c), Rashid Khan, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb-ur-Raham, Dawlat Zadran

First Published: Jun 01, 2019 11:49 IST