Afghanistan will look to return to winning ways when they take on Namibia in a Super 12 group 2 match of the ICC men’s T20 World Cup on October 31 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Afghanistan will be batting on a dry pitch after captain Mohammad Nabi won the toss.

“We’ll bat first. The wicket looks really good to bat on. Feeling really good after the performance in the last game. A lot of plus points, the boys played really well. Asghar’s service in the last 16 years has been great. He has promoted a lot of cricket for Afghanistan. Mujeeb is unfit and Hamid Hassan will be playing,” Mohammad Nabi said after winning the toss.

“A great opportunity for our bowlers to put them under pressure. Looks like a good wicket with wind blowing across. It won’t be easy to set a target. We have planned the same as we planned against Sri Lanka. We are not playing the bowler, we are only playing the ball. We are not going to spend energy on the opposition and are instead going to focus on our strengths. No team changes,” Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus said on losing the toss.

Playing XI (from)

Namibia (Playing XI): Craig Williams, Michael van Lingen, Zane Green(w), Gerhard Erasmus(c), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Pikky Ya France, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz.

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad(w), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi(c), Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Hamid Hassan, Naveen-ul-Haq.

T20I Head to Head: This is the first time these two nations will be playing against each other. When the two teams met in T20s, Afghanistan prevailed in both encounters.

Did you know?

– In the T20 World Cup, Namibia spinners have taken only two wickets in four games.

– Afghanistan have won all their 10-day matches defending a score since the T20 World Cup in 2016.