New Delhi [India], June 27 : Afghanistan will be looking to mark their third Cricket World Cup appearance on a high note, their mission is a simple one, to bring joy to the people of their country and to live up to their expectations following their qualification through the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Super League.
Ten teams feature in what will be the biggest Cricket World Cup ever, across 10 venues, with the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad hosting the tournament opener and final.
Afghanistan Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi reflected on the expectations that are associated with the team. While speaking to ICC he said, "The game against Bangladesh will be our first game of the World Cup. Every game played at the World Cup is important, it gives you confidence and a good morale if you go out there and win. We will prepare ourselves and work hard as much as we can and try to start positively."
"The World Cup is a great event, and we are looking forward to it. It's a dream for every player to play there, especially in India where we hope we can get a lot of support. It's near Afghanistan, so hopefully a lot of people will come to watch our games. There is a lot of expectation back home during big events. People back home are expecting a lot from us, they want us to win. This time, Inshallah, we will try our best to perform well in this World Cup and to give happiness to people of Afghanistan back home," Shahidi signed off.
The other nine venues are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Dharamsala, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai and Pune. Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram join Hyderabad in hosting the practice games.
Afghanistan will play India and England in New Delhi on 11 and 15 October respectively, followed by Pakistan in Chennai on 23 October and Australia in Mumbai on 7 November. They are looking to get off to a strong start in their tournament opener against Bangladesh in Dharamsala on 7 October.
Eight teams have qualified for the 46-day event through the Cricket World Cup Super League while the final two spots will be taken by the finalists of the ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifier taking place in Zimbabwe.
The tournament retains the round-robin format of last time with all teams playing against each other for a total of 45 league matches. There are six day matches in the tournament, which will start at 10h30 local time. All other matches, including the knockouts, will be day-night fixtures starting at 14h00.
The top four teams will qualify for the semi-finals to be played in Mumbai on 15 November and in Kolkata on 16 November. The semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.
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