'Afghanistan Won't Gain Experience Till They Play Against Big Teams Consistently': Asghar Afghan To NDTV

Afghanistan failed to make it to the final of the recently-concluded Asia Cup but the performance of the Mohammad Nabi-led side impressed one and all. They started off with wins against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in the group stage, but defeats against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and India in the Super 4 stage led to their ouster. In an interview with NDTV, former Afghanistan captain Asghar Afghan spoke about how more game time against the top teams will help the side in easing out their nerves in pressure situations.

He also spoke about the rivalry that has developed between Pakistan and Afghanistan, how Mujeeb Ur Rahman has managed to cement his place in the side and how Afghanistan needs to learn to take the game deep against big teams.

"No doubt, the performance of Afghanistan in the Asia Cup was very good. The only problem is that we do not play against big teams that often, Afghanistan Cricket Board needs to organise home and away series against big teams. Till the time, we do not play against big teams, we will not gain that experience. After the World Cup last year, we played in the Asia Cup. A long time passed before we played a big tournament. Till the time we do not play more matches, our cricket won't move forward," said Afghan, who is currently in India to participate in the upcoming Legends League Cricket.

"Afghanistan would have gained a lot of experience from playing in the Asia Cup. The performance was good, but because of inexperience, we were not able to get over the line. Till the time, we do not play against big teams, we would not have experience in finishing off games. The match against Pakistan was a close one, whenever you play against a big side, you need to take the game deep. Talking about Afghanistan,