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Afghanistan U19 Coach Raiees Ahmadzai says his team is well prepared to face any opposition in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup. Ahmadzai said the team is looking forward to quarter-final match against Pakistan on Friday just like any other match and will play with all their potential.
He added, “Any match against Pakistan is interesting to everyone including me as a coach as Pakistan is always a strong side.”
Ahmadzai expressed confidence that the Afghan juniors will go to the match with an advantage and high morale having beaten Pakistan several times at the U19 level previously. Therefore, Pakistan will be under a bit pressure, especially considering the form that our team is in this tournament.
Afghanistan U19 Coach Raiees Ahmadzai mentoring players during a training session
Raiees credited the team’s success so far in the tournament to an all-round team performance in all departments. “Our spinners Ghafari and Noor Ahmad, as well as pacers like Fazal Haq, have performed well with the ball and our batsmen have been performing well too hitting half-centuries and putting on good partnerships. The addition of Ibrahim Zadran has proven well for the team.”
Afghanistan beat South Africa and UAE comprehensively in their league stage matches of the tournament while the match against Canada was abandoned due to rain, which meant they topped Group-D with 5 points. Ahmadzai said the team is confident and will take the positives from previous matches with them to the contest against Pakistan.
Raiees Ahmadzai credited team Afghanistan’s success so far in U19 World Cup to team performance
”We will try not to be emotional and will play with a clear mind because when players are emotional, they tend to lose their control and strength and are not able to focus on the match properly. “ Ahmadzai remarked.
Afghanistan and Pakistan will face each other on Friday, 31st January 2020 in the quarter-final clash in Willowmoore Park, Benoni.
