KINGSTOWN: Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan attributed their qualification for the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 to a prediction made by West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara before the tournament commenced.
Lara had expressed confidence that Afghanistan would reach the final four teams in the T20 World Cup, a prediction that Rashid Khan believes the team has now validated with their performance on the field.
“It’s a dream for us to be in the semi-finals. The way we started the tournament, the belief came when we beat New Zealand. It’s unbelievable,” Rashid Khan remarked in a post-match interview following Afghanistan’s thrilling eight-run victory over Bangladesh in a rain-affected clash in Kingstown.
“The only guy who put us in the semi-finals was Brian Lara and we proved him right. When we met him at a welcome party, I told him we won’t let you down,” Khan added.
He emphasized the enormity of the achievement for Afghanistan, particularly noting the celebration back home and the pride felt by the entire nation. “It’s a big achievement for us as well. We have done that at the U-19 level but at this World Cup, I don’t have any words to describe the feeling back home,” Khan expressed.
Looking ahead to the semi-final clash against South Africa, Rashid Khan acknowledged that Afghanistan fell short by about 15 runs with the bat, posting 115-5 in their allotted 20 overs. However, he praised the bowlers for executing their plans effectively and securing the win.
“We thought 130-135 was a good score but we fell 15 runs short. We knew they would come hard at us and we knew that is what we could take advantage of. We didn’t need to do anything extra, just be clear in our plans,” Khan explained regarding their strategy during the match.
