Unfinished Business: Afghanistan’s struggle with winning close contests, writes Afghan cricket analyst Muhammad Noman Ashrafi

Afghanistan lost yet another game that they should have won, this time against their Asian counterparts Bangladesh. However, this has now transformed into a chronic trend that needs to be rectified if they want to compete well at the sport’s highest level.

Having said that, Afghanistan team need to start reconsidering their game plan and conduct a thorough root cause analysis of why things go bad, and they end up losing games where they could have easily finished as winners. It has now been a constant problem. Afghanistan have lost against Pakistan on two such occasions albeit in T20Is- Asia Cup 2018 & T20 World Cup 2021- both times they were on driver’s seat but could not finish and the psychological demand proved too much. The Afghan team almost beat Sri Lanka in the 2019 World Cup but again the nerves got the better of the team and could not translate the spark into victory.

There are many reasons one would argue for these close finishes and unfavorable results. However, I believe the root causes come to three points:

1: Lack of team mentality and over-reliance on individual brilliance

Cricket is a team sport and just like any other, the results depend more on how the team plays as a unit rather than relying on individual brilliance. There is no doubt that Afghanistan is gifted with some of the most talented players in the world currently in Rashid, Mujeeb, Nabi, Ibrahim, Fazal Haq and others who provide the individual brilliance almost in every contest. However, it is an established fact that teams that finish off matches regularly, their backup players are able to keep the pressure up. It’s a process that takes time and exposure both.

However, Afghanistan seem to be struggling to find that momentum and failed to put a unified and collective mentality to their approach which has now frequently translated into a void that is eventually exploited by the more experienced opposition on the day and costs them close contests.

2: An outdated brand of cricket in ODIs

Most of the current Afghan players have learnt cricket inspired by the cricketing culture of the early 2000s and perhaps even late 90s. Back in those days, the game was slower, most of the teams batting first depended on the last 10 overs for a boost and the middle overs were quieter when the runs were scored at almost half the run-rate. This resulted in lesser 300+ scores and anything above 300 was considered a big task. As the other teams have adapted well to a more modern approach of constant run-flow and the power of strike rotation rather than boundaries in middle overs, that is exactly where Afghanistan has lagged behind and not moved on. Since gaining ODI status in 2009, Afghanistan has crossed the 300 mark only 4 times in 133 matches and has scored 79 times between the 200 and 300 marks. This is indicative of their lack of ability to finish innings well.

On some instances, It has also happened due to batting collapses which were mostly triggered due to lack of Strike rotation, a major problem which remains unsolved and was evident in the 1st ODI against Bangladesh when Hashmat Shahidi’s men played almost 29 overs worth of dot balls.

3: Lack of Matches against higher ranked sides

While the above two factors were more internal, this one is more an external element which has clearly affected the team’s ability to put competitive performance on display. Though Afghanistan has Transitioned from its associate tag, the team has still played a bulk of its matches against lower ranked sides such as Ireland, Scotland & Zimbabwe. Though these teams have put on equally competitive performance on board and taken Afghan team down to the wire on more than one occasion, it has considerably affected Afghanistan’s caliber when it comes to leveling up against higher quality sides.

The discussion about the reasons for the lack of matches needs a thorough analysis of its own.

To sum it up, as Afghanistan seek to edge ahead in the cricketing world, it is imperative that they address these lost opportunities and adapt better to the tricks and trade of modern cricket. It is a tough task, but Indispensable l if they are to establish themselves as a competitive international side.

(The author is an Afghan cricket analyst and commentator)

Published on: Thursday, February 24, 2022, 04:30 PM IST