Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi won the toss and opted to bat first against Australia as Steve Smith and Cameron Green missed out in their ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 clash at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday.
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Hashmatullah Shahidi defended his call to bat forst, despite having results chasing in the tournament.
“We want to bat first. The wicket looks good now and we are hopeful it will seam and spin in the second innings. We have done well chasing but you also have to look at the opposition and the ground,” Shahidi said.
When asked about having a session with cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar ahead of their clash against Australia, Shahidi said “He is a legend of the game, we were excited to see him and learn him, he had some words for us and we will try to learn from that.
Shahidi also named Naveen will be playing for Afghanistan.
“We have one change – Fazalhaq is not playing, Naveen is playing,” the Afghanistan skipper said after winning the toss.
Australia vs Afghanistan – LIVE
Pat Cummins, Australia captain, said that he too would have opted to bat if had won the toss.
“Not too much (worried about losing the toss). We would have had a bat but it is fine,” Pat Cummins said at the toss.
Cummins also said that Australia have brought in Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Marsh in place of Steve Smith, who is suffering from vertigo and looked uneased during warm-up, and Cameron Green.
“Two changes.. Steve struggled in the warm-ups and he’s going to miss out, Cam Green misses out as well, Maxwell and Marsh are in,” Cummins added.
The Australian skipper also said that he is happy with his side’s performance so far.
“Really happy with the way we have gone, five (wins) in a row, one of the most pleasing thing is we have played 14 guys so far and everyone has done well, long may that continue,” he said.
When asked about bowling in the afternoon heat, Cummins said: “It (weather conditions) is always a factor, it is a bit cooler than it was a month ago, we will be fine we have got plenty of bowling options.”
AUS v AFG Playing XIs –
Australia: Travis Head, David Warner, Mitchell Marsh, Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis(WK), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Pat Cummins(C), Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood
Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi(C), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil(WK), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq
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