Ashgar Afghan, the former captain, praised Rashid Khan on Wednesday as the “Captain of the Tournament” and said that Afghanistan’s remarkable performance in the 2017 T20 World Cup is due to the players’ experience with challenging surfaces in leagues and international cricket.

Afghanistan made history on Tuesday when they defeated Bangladesh to advance to their first-ever T20 World Cup quarterfinal.

The players from the country riven by conflict have shown incredible skill; not only did they beat New Zealand in the group round, but they also outplayed Australia in the Super 8 stage.

“In my opinion, Rashid has led the competition as captain. He has set an exemplary example. With the bat, he has been a match-winner, an inspiring captain, and a very efficient bowler, Ashgar told PTI Videos. Ashgar led Afghanistan to victory in 42 of the 52 Twenty20 internationals.

Above all, he has been successful in bringing out the best in his players.

And this has been a key factor in Afghanistan making it to the semifinals. He was the vice captain of the Afghan squad in 2017, and he showed leadership qualities even then.

Afghanistan will now play South Africa on Thursday in Tarouba, Trinidad, in the first semifinal.

In his opinion, the main factor contributing to Afghanistan’s success has been the team’s exposure to international cricket and T20 leagues held throughout the year in different parts of the globe.

“They have gained the knowledge, experience, and technical know-how to handle challenging wickets in the USA and the Caribbean by playing in extremely difficult conditions.”

Asghar praised the opening duo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran for being crucial to Afghanistan’s performance in the competition. Asghar led Afghanistan in its first Test triumph over Ireland in 2019 and its first Test loss against India in 2018.

“They have the best opening duo in the competition, scoring the most runs possible. Gurbaz is the top run scorer, although Zadran comes in third on the list.

“In addition, they consistently provided Afghanistan with a rousing start to aid the team in establishing a strong total or pursuing stubborn targets,” he said.

The top five bowlers in terms of wickets taken are all Afghans, with pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi topping the list with 17 wickets. With 15 wickets, Rashid Khan is ranked third, while Naveen ul Haq is ranked fifth with 13 wickets.

Together, Rashid, Naveen, and Farooqi have claimed 45 wickets. This is incredible. The batting and bowling rankings are dominated by Afghans. They have changed the course of games and are taking important wickets at critical periods.

“Noor Ahmad has also become a sensation.

He concluded, saying, “This team is looking extremely dangerous and has the potential to pull up more victories and stun the world.”