Captain Kieron Pollard says that he was under no illusions about the potent threat posed by Afghanistan’s spinners and that West Indies will have to adopt a strategic approach in order to negate their effectiveness.
The tourists opened their limited-overs tour yesterday with a four-wicket defeat in a warm-up fixture against an invitational team here and will clash with Afghanistan in the first Twenty20 (T20) International of the three-match series tomorrow.
He continued: “We, as a team, we have to plan how we are going to structure our 50 overs of batting and then our 50 overs of bowling. Each and every one of us is a good player [in our] own right, and we have to show what we have to offer.”
Khan, 21, is Afghanistan’s captain in all three formats and has emerged as one of the most penetrative leg-spinners in international cricket, with 131 wickets in 68 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and 81 scalps in 42 T20 Internationals.His best figures in ODIs of seven for 18 came in Afghanistan’s shock win over the Windies two years ago in St Lucia.
Nabi has, meanwhile, taken 128 wickets from 121 ODIs and 69 wickets from 72 T20Is, while Mujeeb, an 18-year-old off-spinner, has already picked up 58 ODI wickets from 37 matches.
Pollard, appointed captain of the white-ball sides in an attempt to halt a disastrous run in both formats, said the Windies would be looking to make big strides in the series. West Indies will take on Afghanistan in three ODIs following the T20 series before facing the hosts in a one-off Test beginning November 27.
