Sanjay Manjrekar added that Afghanistan might look to attack Australia with their spinners in their 2023 World Cup match. The two sides will play against each other at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Tuesday, November 7. While Australia have 10 points and they are placed third in the points table, their opponents have two fewer points and are placed at sixth position in the standings.

During a discussion on Star Sports, Manjrekar said, “They can’t take Afghanistan lightly. The match is in Mumbai, red-soil pitch, so some of their wrist spinners will enjoy it. Afghanistan are brilliant in the sense that if they feel spin is their strength, they are going all out with spin, throwing all their eggs in one basket. They play four spinners, one genuine pace bowler, and one part-time pacer. It’s a team that’s interesting, in form and has a lot of self-belief. It will be interesting to see what the result is but Australia, obviously, won’t take this opposition lightly.”

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However, Afghanistan have played Noor Ahmad in their playing XI in just two matches. They have won both those games, with the left-arm wrist-spinner scalping five wickets at an economy rate of 4.21. Meanwhile, Mohammad Kaif expects the Afghanistan spinners to trouble the Aussies more in Mumbai.

He said: “It’s a flat batting wicket but their spinners will trouble them. They have Noor Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman. Australia are a strong team and are playing well. They lost at the start but have made a comeback in the tournament. You cannot write them off.”

“David Warner has come in fantastic form. However, I will still say that Afghanistan are a good team. They have shown a complete package, whether you talk about batting or bowling. Earlier it was only bowling, now batting has also come in form. That is why this match has become 50-50 for me,” he concluded.