INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Afghanistan skipper Hashmat Shahidi says Wednesday&s ICC Champions Trophy match against England will be a challenge but that the team &has
worked hard to reach the level they are at& and are ready to play every game &with confidence&.Speaking at a pre-match press conference, he
said the team &will try their best to beat them again&
This was in reference to their win over England in 2023.According to him, the team will try to put in a better effort with the bat in
Wednesday&s match after their 107-run defeat against South Africa last week.For Afghanistan and England this is a high-stakes match as both
teams hope for their first win in this tournament.With India and New Zealand having already booked their berths in the semi-finals from
Group A, all eyes will now be on Group B
All four teams & Afghanistan, Australia, South Africa and England & are still in the fray.Shahidi meanwhile welcomed recent comments by
former cricketers and commentators lauding Afghanistan&s achievements but pointed out that even though some experts have said the team
stands a good chance of securing a berth in the semifinals they still have to work hard.Shahidi noted that it was the world&s top eight
teams in the tournament and that it was a tough challenge for them
He said: &We have to give our 100%& on the day if we want to beat these teams.In conclusion, the skipper said while good spin bowlers alone
could not win a match, he is sure the team&s batters &will come back stronger& for Wednesday&s game.Wednesday&s match in Lahore will start
at 1:30pm and will be broadcast live and exclusively on Ariana Television
The pre-match show will start at 12:30pm.The post Champions Trophy: Afghanistan&s skipper ‘confident& ahead of high-stakes match against
England first appeared on Ariana News.
