「マックスウェル」によって動揺したハッシュマトゥラ・シャヒディは、オーストラリアに対するアフガニスタンのノックアウトパーティーの前に質問しました

Afghanistan isn’t fixated on Glenn Maxwell. The swashbuckling batter silenced them in the ODI World Cup 2023, playing one of the most remarkable innings (201*), battling pain and injury. Australia was just 91/7, and from there he put on a 202-run stand with Pat Cummins, where the pacer scored just 12 runs.

Hashmatullah Shahidi agitated by ‘Maxwell’ question

Afghanistan will face them in an ODI match for the first time since then. That will be a knockout match; whoever wins will qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy semifinal. Having beaten England, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi was asked about Maxwell and was agitated by the question.

“You think we will come only to play with Maxwell? Do you think it will be like that? We have planned for the entire Australian team, and I know that he (Maxwell) played really well in the 2023 World Cup, but that’s part of the history,” Shahidi told reporters in Lahore today.

Afghanistan prepared for each Australian player

The southpaw reminded me that Afghanistan has already beaten Australia in the 2024 T20 World Cup, and they will come prepared for every player in the XI, rather than fixate on Glenn Maxwell.

“After that, we beat them in the T20 World Cup, and we think about all the opposition teams. We are not coming to the ground to plan on individual players. We will try our best to come up with the planning, and we are not playing only Maxwell—we are playing Australia,” Shahidi said.

“I think it will be a good game for cricket, and our focus will be to keep things simple and not worry much about playing the semifinal. We will try to do our basics well, and we will try to come to the ground with good planning,” Shahidi said. “Afghan people always cheer for us, as you saw (against England) on the ground. There were a lot of our Afghan people. So, their support is always with us, and wherever we go, they support us,” he concluded.