How Afghanistan became this good

As per the current T20I rankings, Afghanistan are the lowest-ranked side - barring Hong Kong - in the ongoing Asia Cup.

They sure have some very exciting T20 players but for them to come together as a team in such a big tournament had to be an uphill task. But the way Mohammad Nabi's men played against Sri Lanka in the tournament opener, it looks like they are here to make a statement. 

Afghanistan will play Bangladesh in their next fixture on 30 August. Bangladesh, of course, have been a familiar opponent for Afghanistan and have an edge over them in this format with five wins out of eight completed matches. They met each other earlier this year in a two-match T20I series which ended in a 1-1 draw.

But while Afghanistan now look like a much stronger team, Bangladesh are probably passing through their worst phase in T20Is, having won only two out of seven completed matches this year. 

Afghanistan nearly had a perfect game against Sri Lanka, bowling out the opponent cheaply and completing the chase in no time. As interesting as it gets, Afghanistan's best bowler Rashid Khan didn't get a wicket but they bowled Sri Lanka out for a mere 105. This was the first time Afghanistan bowled a team out without no contribution in the wicket column from Rashid. While the leg-spinner remains their best weapon, their effort in Dubai suggested that they have enough threats in the bowling line-up apart from Rashid. 

Bangladesh know Fazalhaq Farooqi well. At least they know what he is capable of. He rattled Bangladesh's top-order in the white-ball series earlier this year with six wickets in three ODIs and five wickets in two T20Is. Bangladesh's top-order hardly had answers to his swing and seam up front. The opening combination still remains a worry for Bangladesh with Litton Das missing out and Farooqi will be eager to repeat what he did to Sri Lanka. 

Then there is the much-celebrated Afghan spin trio - Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. They shared four wickets among themselves giving away 50 runs in 12 overs against Sri Lanka. It will be a massive challenge for Bangladesh up against Farooqi's pace, swing and seam first up and then the spin toxin of Rashid, Nabi and Mujeeb. You cannot just play all of them out. At some point, you have to go after them and that's what might cause further problems. 

Afghanistan's bowling, especially the spin bowling line-up, is so celebrated that sometimes one tends to forget about their batting firepower. Rahmanullah Gurbaz took responsibility against Sri Lanka to remind everyone of their T20 batting prowess. 18 balls were all he needed to take the game away from Sri Lanka and the bowlers he went after included Maheesh Theekshana, a mystery spinner, and Matheesha Pathirana, a handy T20 seam bowler. Gurbaz and Hazratullah Zazai very well know the Bangladeshi bowlers and they won't tweak their fearless batting approach. 

They also have an in-form Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid with his pyrotechnics in the middle to provide a strong finish to the innings. It will be interesting to see how Bangladesh's newly appointed skipper Shakib Al Hasan marshals his troops and what approach they adopt against a high-flying Afghanistan. 

Afghanistan are not a flawless team but the brand of cricket they are trying to play is refreshing as well as highly effective and if you loosen your grip even for a short period of time, it will hurt you big time.