Karachi, Feb 20 Ahead of their opening match of the Champions Trophy against South Africa on Friday, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi is confident of starting on a winning note in pursuit of their maiden ICC title. Afghanistan enter the tournament after securing four consecutive ODI series victories against Ireland, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe.
Afghanistan were consistent in their last two ICC tournaments. In the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, Afghanistan made a stunning impact, defeating three former champions - England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Additionally, they reached the semifinals of the T20 World Cup last year, held in the United States and the West Indies. "We are not here just to participate in this tournament. We are definitely 100 percent looking to win this event," Shahidi told reporters ahead of their match against South Africa on Friday.
"We played a lot of quality cricket in the last two years and it's a good chance for us because the boys are very experienced and these conditions are also suitable for us so we have a good chance and let's start it from tomorrow and hopefully we start with the win and we go with the same momentum throughout the tournament.
"Recently we beat them (South Africa) in Sharjah 2-1 so we have that confidence with us and we are not under pressure anyway, because right now we are focusing on what we can do in this tournament and I believe that our team is ready for this tournament and we are focusing on our own team. There is no pressure on us," he said.
Shahidi added that despite playing away from home they still have local supporters in Karachi. "First of all, about people here - there are a lot of Afghans," Shahidi said. "They live here in Karachi and in Pakistan and also a lot of Pashtun people, I think, they support us. So yeah, yesterday there was a lot of crowds shouting for us (during training) and it feels good and it give us confidence that we have supporters here and about our performance."
Afghanistan skipper also shared optimism on playing international cricket on home grounds in the near future. "Let me say it again because in media I heard a lot from other countries that they don't have facilities, they don't have stadiums, they don't have academies. It's totally wrong," said Shahidi.
"We have good facilities. We have cricket academies. We have High Performance Centre in Kabul and Jalalabad and also we have stadiums in every zone of Afghanistan. So, we have the facilities to call a team to come to Afghanistan but in our country, some security issues's why other countries are not coming but hopefully soon, as soon as possible, one of the countries will come to Afghanistan and you will see the crowd also.
"When we play domestic cricket, it's fully packed. Even people wait outside the stadium and try to come and watch the domestic game, like more than 50,000, 40,000, or 30,000 people coming for the finals of an event. I know that if any team come to Afghanistan, there will be like thousands of people, and fans come and arrive at the stadium because there is a lot of craze for cricket. There are a lot of people who love cricket. So hopefully that day comes and hopefully it comes soon," Shahidi added.
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