Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi opted to bat first after winning the toss in a must-win game against Sri Lanka at the Gabba in the ongoing T20 World Cup on Tuesday.
Both the teams linger at the bottom of the points table of Group 1 with Sri Lanka in the fifth position while Afghanistan at sixth.
Sri Lanka will be gutted with their performance at the T20 World Cup until now having won the Asia Cup 2022 in September, defeating teams such as India and Pakistan on route to victory. The team has not been able to replicate the performance and will be keen to return to winning ways having lost two of their three matches.
Afghanistan has yet to register a win in the tournament and will fancy its chances against a Sri Lanka side that has blown hot and cold.
“We will bat first. It is a used pitch. Best to put runs on the board. Everyone is fine. Only Zazai is missing. Naib is in. The last two games were washed out. The weather should be good in the afternoon. Mujeeb gets us early wickets,” said Nabi after winning the toss.
“We would have batted as well. We have one change. It is important to bounce back. We are a good fielding side. We need to lift our confidence on the field. We are still in the competition and we need to win,” said Dasun Shanaka during the toss.
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Usman Ghani, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi(c), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Sri Lanka (Playing XI): Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis(w), Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka(c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Maheesh Theekshana, Pramod Madushan, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha (ANI)
