14th June, 2018 - a day, that will remind etched in every Afghanistani's lives. A day, that will bring joy to this terror-stricken country. A day, that will go down in Afghanistan history. Come 14th June, 2018 in Bengaluru and a group of eleven players will write their names in the cricketing history books. It's that day when Afghanistan will make their test debut against the number one ranked test team, India. By doing so, they will become only the twelfth nation to play test cricket and all the Afghani fans cannot wait for this historic day.
Let's take a look at five Afghanistan players who can play a crucial role in their country's debut test.
1. Rashid Khan
This 19-year old wonderkid needs no introduction. He has played in many T20 leagues across the globe and has done wonders for whichever team he's played for. Even in national colours Rashid has performed exceedingly well and that is why he is currently ranked the number one T20I bowler in the world. His quicker ball and wrong uns make him a treat to watch. Most batsmen have failed to pick him and it will be interesting to see how the Indian players go about trying to tackle him. Rashid is definitely Afghanistan's trump card and if he gets going (more often than not he does), India will have their task cut out.
2. Mujeeb Zadran
Another Afghan wonderkid who has broken into limelight after a stellar show with the ball in the U-19 World Cup in New Zealand where he helped Afghanistan reach the semi-finals. His brilliant performance earned him a maiden call-up to the national team for the World Cup Qualifiers and the 17-year old kid did not disappoint. He played an instrumental part in Afghanistan winning the Qualifiers by being the the joint most wicket taker with 17 scalps. Performances like that earned him an IPL contract with the Kings XI Punjab franchise. He had a great IPL season before injury forced him to miss the latter half of the tournament. With lots of good performances, Mujeeb will play a key role in Afghanistan's debut test.
3. Mohammed Nabi
When we talk about Afghanistan cricket, Mohammed Nabi's name will be right up there. Being the senior statesman in the team and having played for different franchises in the world, Nabi carries loads of experience. A genuine all-rounder who can get you wickets when needed and a finisher who can win you games on his own, Nabi will be Afghanistan's go to man in the upcoming test match versus India. Having done quite well with both bat and ball in the recently concluded T20I series against Bangladesh, Nabi will be determined to transfer such performances in test cricket too. Mohammed Nabi may well prove to be the X-factor for Afghanistani.
4. Mohammad Shahzad
Known as ''MS" by his teammates, Mohammad Shahzad is a huge MS Dhoni fan and somewhat bats like him too. The wicket-keeping batter, on his day can tear apart any given bowling attack as he is known for his aggressive batting. Afghanistan will rely on him to give them a pacy start and on which the team can build a score. Shahzad will know the importance of quick runs but at the same time, he'll have to contain himself from going for the big shots every ball. Test cricket is a different ball game altogether and it will be interesting to see how Shahzad makes that slight adjustment to his game. Nonetheless, he is a key figure for Afghanistan and will be keen to perform well in the historic one-off test match.
5. Asghar Stanikzai
The skipper of the Afghanistan national team, Asghar Stanikzai will be a key player for the historic one-off test match vs India. He will look to lead from the front just like he did in the World Cup Qualifiers and then again recently in the T20I series vs Bangladesh where Afghanistan blanked their opponents 3-0. High on confidence and with a bagful of experience under his belt, the Afghani skipper will need to step up against the big boys. Over the years, Stanikzai has been a decent performer for Afghanistan but what stands out is his captaincy and the team will need their captain. Will Stanikzai be successful and become only the second ever skipper to help their country win it's debut test match? Only time will tell.
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