Afghanistan legend Mohammad Nabi has been the flag-bearer of top-notch cricket in his country. As the year 2023 begins, Nabi believes that the new year will bring more opportunities for the Afghan players with some exciting leagues and tournaments scheduled throughout the year.
In an exclusive conversation with CricketNext, Nabi opened up about his exclusion from IPL 2023, plans for the new league ILT20 and the ultimate goal to ODI World Cup. The Afghanistan all-rounder, who was part of the Kolkata Knight Riders squad last year went unsold in the IPL 2023 auction. Nabi, who debuted in IPL in 2017 believes his exclusion from the league this time was because of his poor performances throughout the year.
ALSO READ | BCCI Announces Best Performers of 2022: Rishabh Pant in Tests; Suryakumar, Bhuvneshwar in T20Is
“I love to play in IPL but this time, I did not perform in last one year and teams look at that as well. So, that’s why I didn’t get picked by any team,” said Nabi.
“I am not at all unhappy with it because I am trying to do my best, I am looking forward to perform in ILT20 and then the next national duty so that I can come to IPL again,” he added.
While, the former Afghanistan skipper won’t be seen in IPL 2023 but he will be donning the Sharjah Warriors jersey in the first edition of the International League T20 (ILT20). The ILT20 will begin from January 13 in United Arab Emirates (UAE). Aiming to perform well in ILT20, Nabi shared his thoughts about the league and also stated his plans for the ODI World Cup.
Excerpts
Lot of T20 cricket ahead for you with the ILT20 league starting in January. How excited are you to be part of the Sharjah Warriors under Moeen Ali?
Everyone is excited for the tournament. From last one year, everyone’s looking for the tournament and hopefully we enjoy it. A bunch of quality cricketers are joining this league so hopefully it’ll be a great one.
How do you see the composition of the Sharjah Warriors squad and your initial impression of the league as it is shaping up?
The combination of the team is really great, it suits to UAE conditions as well. We have a bunch of spinners, an attacking batsman, senior companions as well, so whole combination will suit this tournament and hopefully we play really well and make a good combination for playing.
Among Asian players in UAE’s conditions which are similar to the subcontinent, the Afghanistan players are in demand and hot property for the ILT20. How much do you think it reflects on the rising stock of Afghanistan in world cricket?
We played a lot of cricket in UAE especially in Sharjah. We know the conditions of Sharjah. Most of the times, it’s really good for batting and sometimes in these conditions there’s low total as well. So, there are a bunch of Afghan players playing in ILT20 and we also have 3-4 Afghan players in our team like Naveen, Gurbaz and Noor Ahmad. They are talented players and they have been playing all over the world so from that motivation comes in. Back home, youngsters get this motivation and they love cricket as well. So, that’s why more talent’s coming from Afghanistan and this time in ILT20, it’ll be more exciting as most of the Afghan players are in the different teams and some are playing together as well.
You’ve got a good experience of T20 leagues like IPL, so how this format has helped in shaping your international T20 career?
I get a lot of experience from different leagues. There are a lot of experienced players and whenever I meet them, I get experience from them. Then when I come back for the national duty, I share my experience to my youngsters and to my teammates. As we haven’t played a lot of international matches with the big teams so this is the one pathway for Afghanistan cricket players – to play with different players and in different leagues. They get experience from these leagues and then come to international matches. So, these leagues give a lot of experience and help a lot to the players.
Afghanistan has qualified for 2023 ODI World Cup ahead of even teams such as South Africa. Is it a vindication of the talent in Afghanistan and how do you see the team’s progress in both forms of white-ball cricket?
Yeah, we had already planned it a year and a half back that we will target those teams and win those games to straight away get qualified for the World Cup. We thought, if we didn’t win big games and then go for the qualifying round, fight over there and come for the World Cup then it will be tough so instead we planned everything and targeted those teams to qualify straight away. It’s going to be a great tournament and the conditions will suit the Afghanistan players as well. We have played plenty of cricket in India and we have our time for the preparation for the World Cup, so hopefully we will perform well in this tournament.
You have an experience of playing in UAE and and you also know the local conditions of Sharjah because of how long you have stayed here for extended periods. Do you see it as an advantage or not?
From last one or two years, I am based in Sharjah and playing every day in Sharjah Academy. It has helped me a lot to adjust quickly and know the conditions. So, it will be helpful for me and the team as well.
Sharjah has a lot of fan following for Afghans. How do you see the Sharjah Warriors and the fans rooting for you as genuine local supporter base in the home-and-away basis of the league?
Most Afghan fans live in Sharjah and we need them to come to the ground and support the players and the team. We have four Afghan players in this team so to support them and the team we hope more fans come to ground.
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here
Comments
0 comment