New Zealand cricketer Colin Munro claims Afghanistan cricket team can be a dark horse in the upcoming 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England.

Afghanistan cricket team is growing up rapidly in the top-class international levels. In the recently concluded Asia Cup 2018 in UAE, Afghanistan impressed with their brilliant consistent team games. Munro feels that the Afghanistan Premier League (APL) will help the Afghanistan cricketers hugely.

Munro told The Hindu, “They have match-winners with both bat and ball, and they have shown what they could do at the recent Asia Cup. I feel the APL would help their cricketers greatly. Rubbing shoulders with some of the best cricketers in the world will be beneficial for them.”

Also read: Afsar Zazai: MS Dhoni has been my idol since childhood

Munro is featuring in the ongoing inaugural APL as he is playing for Balkh Legends. He has impressed with the Afghanistan cricketers’ desire to become better players. He added that he would be happy if he could help the young Afghanistan players in the APL.

The 31-year-old New Zealand cricketer said, “And they have already begun asking me questions. And I will be happy if a couple of young Afghan cricketers gain something by working with players like me at the APL.”

Also read: Laxman Sivaramakrishnan wishes to become Indian spin-bowling coach

Talking about the Afghanistan sensation Rashid Khan, Munro said, “Rashid has been brilliant. He could turn the ball even on the state highway.”

While the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup is just more than seven months behind, Munro is focusing on the big tournament. He feels the 2015 runners-up New Zealand can play well as they had a good success in English condition. He also believes that the tournament will be a hotly contested.

Munro said, “I think New Zealand would play well in the conditions of England, where we have had successes in the past. England, West Indies and India too have good chances in what I think will be a hotly contested World Cup, with all teams playing one another once.”

Also read: Matthew Hayden Faces Serious Injuries After A Surfing Accident

Munro, who is famous in the limited-overs cricket formats, ended his first-class career with the average of 51.58. Admitting it was the hard decision for him, Munro added that he wasn’t getting good rewards and wanted to focus more in the white-ball cricket to fix his place for the upcoming World Cup.

Also read: Chris Gayle ends his List A career with a century

He said, “To give up First Class cricket was a tough decision and I have been thinking about it for the last couple of years. It wasn’t easy to give up 10 years of First Class cricket and about 50 matches, but I wasn’t getting the rewards I wanted.”