• Home
  • Who Said What
  • They Are At Par With Pakistan Shoaib Akhtar Advises Pak Not To Take Afg Lightly

'They Are At Par With Pakistan'- Shoaib Akhtar Advises PAK Not To Take AFG Lightly

image-lo2gg0l2Afghan spinners will be potent on Chennai's surface

In what is anticipated to be a nail-biting face-off in the ICC World Cup 2023, the Pakistan team is set to clash with neighbouring Afghanistan in their fifth match.

PAK vs AFG: Shoaib Akhtar warns Pakistan against underestimating Afghanistan

Having secured two victories and suffered two losses in their previous matches, Pakistan's journey remains on the razor's edge.

Historically, matches between these two nations have always been keenly contested, and former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar predicts another fiery showdown. Taking to Twitter, he cautioned the Pakistan team, led by Babar Azam, not to underestimate the Afghan side.

"It's not just #PAKvsAFG. It's Pak vs the crowd. It's Pak vs the groundsmen. Tough match for us. Afghanistan is a tough team, they're not any minnow or rollover," captioned Akhtar.

According to Akhtar, this isn't just a game between two teams but also a challenge posed by the stadium's crowd and groundsmen. Highlighting the threat Afghanistan poses, Akhtar highlighted that this game shouldn't be viewed as a potential "upset" if Afghanistan wins. He sees the Afghan team on an equal footing with Pakistan, especially with their potent spin-bowling attack.

"It's a crucial match, big match. You know tempers flare in this match. By all means, Afghanistan are not minnows. This won't be a run-over. This is not the sort of team where 'upsets' will be called. This is a team which is at par with Pakistan. They have all the spinners, and they will trouble the Pakistan team. Pakistan cannot afford to lose to Afghanistan, in fact, they can't afford to lose to anyone," said Akhtar.

He further suggested that factors such as crowd enthusiasm, pitch conditions, and support from the ground staff could tilt the balance in Afghanistan's favour. 

The legendary pacer reckoned that the spinner-friendly wickets expected for the match are likely to challenge both teams equally, regardless of the time of play.

"Things that go in Afghanistan's favour, I am telling you are crowd support, ground support, pitches are good (which favour them). I think the spinning track, which will be there, will favour spinners no matter if you bowl during the day or under the lights," added the former speedster.

Pakistan commenced their World Cup campaign on a positive note with back-to-back wins but faced setbacks against heavyweights India and Australia. On the other hand, Afghanistan managed to stun the defending champions England but couldn't overpower India, New Zealand, or Bangladesh.