Shahid Afridi backs Afghanistan to win 2024 T20 World Cup: ‘No one should be surprised if they lift the trophy’

Former Pakistan captain and T20 World Cup winner Shahid Afridi believes Afghanistan’s fairytale run can culminate in first-ever World Cup win.

“They should take a lot of confidence knowing that they have already beaten New Zealand, Australia and Bangladesh in a fantastic, low-scoring thriller. If they can do that, they can also lift the trophy and if they do, no one should be surprised,” Afridi wrote in his column for the ICC.

Led by Rashid Khan, Afghanistan on Tuesday pipped Bangladesh in the last Super-8 game to qualify as the second-ranked team in Group 1. They will face South Africa in the semifinal on Thursday. Both teams have never made it to the summit clash in the tournament’s history.

“Reaching the final of the World Cup will not only be good for the proud nation of Afghanistan but it will also be great for cricket. It will help promote the great game of cricket in nations where they are no longer considered ‘minnows’ and will inspire young cricketers to dream big and elevate nations,” Afridi believes. “More generally, seeing new teams make to the top four is wonderful.”

The 2007 T20 World Cup player of the tournament also picked out the players in the Afghanistan team that have impressed him the most, starting from the captain.

“Rashid Khan is leading from the front, they have a great opening pair who have produced amazing partnerships, and pacers who are bowling great line and length and taking vital wickets. Rahmanullah Gurbaz is the leading run-scorer in the competition and Fazalhaq Farooqi has taken more wickets than anybody else – he, Rashid and Naveen-ul-Haq have done wonders with the ball,” Afridi added.

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The winner between Afghanistan and South Africa will play either India or defending champions England, who face off in a repeat of the 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal.

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