Afghanistan taking inspiration from Test win in Chattogram: Shahidi

[Nergal]

 

Back in 2019, Afghanistan earned their maiden Test win over a full-member nation by beating Bangladesh by 224 runs © Getty
Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said on Tuesday that they are taking inspiration from their historic Test win over hosts Bangladesh at Chattogram as they prepare to take them in the upcoming three-match ODI series at the same venue.

Afghanistan put up a brave show when the two sides met in the one-off Test series at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in 2019 by earning their maiden Test win over a full-member nation at that point in time.

ODI captain Shahidi was part of the Afghan Test side that earned the memorable victory and, according to him, his team wants to start from where they finished at ZACS.

''Yes we want to start it from there (Test series win over Bangladesh),'' Shahidi told reporters on Tuesday at ZACS ahead of their opening game. ''We have got good memories at this venue and we will take positives from that win and try to pick things up from there tomorrow,'' he said.

Shahidi said that the team is excited about bowling on the pitches in Bangladesh, which are known for helping the spinners.

''We have good spin bowling attack and in Bangladesh, the wicket helps spin bowling. That is very good, so I am confident."

Shahidi added that they don't find any problem from switching from T20 mode to other formats as they are used to it.

''Last year we played against Ireland and then we played against Netherland and we played well there and prepared well also. It will not be a problem for us (to adapt to ODIs from T20Is) and it doesn't become a problem for us,'' said Shahidi.

ACB recently appointed Stuart Law as their interim head coach for Bangladesh series after the post went vacant following the departure of Lance Klusener.

''He (Law) has coached here and knows all the things about the wickets and grounds. He is giving us inputs and we'll follow that. It can be (an advantage for us)."

Though Afghanistan arrived earlier to have a week-long training program, their three major stars - Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz - joined the team preparation camp for the first time on February 21 when they arrived from the Pakistan Super League

''We had a good preparation in Qatar before Sylhet and we had covered all the things that were needed and after that in Sylhet we had a six-day camp and we covered all the things,'' the captain said. ''We are well prepared and we will try our best to bring it down to the game tomorrow."