‘I’ll Hit Them. If Bumrah, Arshdeep, Siraj…’: Afghanistan’s Rahmanullah Gurbaz Fires Warning Shot At India Ahead Of Super Eights

New Delhi: In the T20 World Cup, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Afghanistan’s vibrant opener has had a roller coaster ride. His performances have been punctuated by extremes – when he gets going, he has produced match-winning knocks seen in the group stage against Uganda (76) and New Zealand (80). On the other hand, against Papua New Guinea and West Indies respectively in their last two matches; he was dismissed after making only 11 runs and bagged a duck.

Gurbaz’s role becomes even more crucial as Afghanistan progresses to the Super Eight stage for the first time in a World Cup. In Barbados on Wednesday, his first test will be against Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya of India’s pace battery.

However, Gurbaz is not afraid since he will take on Indian bowlers. “Honestly, my target is not just Jasprit Bumrah. I will look to target all (Indian) bowlers there are five bowlers who generally bowl and I have to tackle them. It’s just a battle against Bumrah. Maybe another bowler could get me out. But yes, If I get a chance to hit him (Bumrah), let’s go for it. It could be Bumrah, Arshdeep or Siraj. If anyone bowls in my area, then I’ll hit them. Either I’ll hit them or I will get out,” Gurbaz told ICC before the match.

For instance, Gurbaz who has previous experience with Indian fast bowlers in IPL feels that Afghanistan is no longer contented with just participating in world cups but rather winning it all. “We used to think of ourselves as one of those teams which are there just to participate in world cup. But now we are thinking that we should go there and become the champions,” he stated firmly.

Jonathan Trott, the head coach of Afghanistan, has expressed the same opinion as Gurbaz. “We have noticed that some of our players played well individually; but this time we need them to play like a team and in some instances during this preliminary phase, we have seen them doing just that,” said Trott, asserting that his side would give India a good run for their money in the Caribbean.