Naib urges more exposure to top-level cricket for Afghans

Naib’s side has lost all five of its matches at the current World Cup ahead of Saturday’s clash with title contender India.

Afghanistan is competing in its second World Cup, with some critics claiming it has failed to progress since its appearance in Australia and New Zealand four years ago. The Afghans beat Scotland in the last World Cup but has lost to Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, South Africa and England in the 2019 tournament.

Naib insists he is still proud of his team’s efforts and sees signs it is headed in the right direction.

But to develop enough to take on the game’s big guns, Naib is convinced Afghanistan must be given more regular matches against the likes of India and World Cup holder Australia.

“Sure, we want (that) also. If you look, we’re not playing against the other teams, but we do very well,” Naib told reporters on Friday. “We want to improve our experience, so we should play against good teams like India, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan.

“If you’re targeting the top five or top six teams, we should play a lot with them. If we play with them, maybe Afghanistan will be losing the matches, or we will be struggling, but one day Afghanistan will be different.

“So it’s good for us, so if we play good cricket with this kind of team, maybe it’s a great experience, especially for the team and for the boys.”

Regardless of whether or not Afghanistan manages a win in its remaining four matches, Naib believes his country’s presence at the World Cup is proof of its progress.

“If you look at the last World Cup, we played five, six games. Now here we’re playing nine games and each team. That’s a positive.”