ICC World Cup 2023: Afghans look to improve batting effort v India

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi against Bangladesh on Saturday. Pic/AFP

Just days before the World Cup, Afghanistan roped in Ajay Jadeja as their mentor, a smart move given how highly the former Indian player is rated for his cricketing acumen. His inputs will be invaluable throughout the tournament, but never more so than leading into Wednesday's encounter against India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

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Jadeja can enlighten and educate, maybe even inspire, but eventually, it will come down to how well Hashmatullah Shahidi and his boys execute the plans. Afghanistan were well below par against Bangladesh in their first game, beaten by six wickets in Dharamsala, but as Shahidi pithily put it on Tuesday, that game is done and dusted and there is no point reflecting on what's in the past. "We are here to make this a historic World Cup for Afghanistan," he added.

Afghanistan will have to raise their game several notches to run India close, but they have shown previously that they are perfectly capable of doing so. The teams have surprisingly only played three One-Day Internationals and India hold a 2-0 record; the third game ended in a tie in the Asia Cup in the UAE in 2018. In the last World Cup, Afghanistan gave India a mighty scare chasing 225 for victory, only their lack of experience and self-belief consigning them to a 11-run defeat.

Another chance for Kishan

India have had time to savour and celebrate their remarkable six-wicket defeat of Australia on Sunday but like their next opponents, they too have shoved that result to the deep recesses of their minds. They will again be without Shubman Gill, recuperating from dengue in Chennai, which translates to another opportunity for Ishan Kishan. Like Shreyas Iyer, the little left-hander was culpable of a horrendous shot against the Aussies; both Kishan and Iyer will be keen to make amends.

There has been needle in the past between Virat Kohli and Naveen-ul-Haq, the Afghan paceman. Playing at his home ground and occupying a seat in the pavilion named after him, Kohli will look to show who the boss is. His expertise and KL Rahul's composed authority carried the night for India in Chennai, and Rohit Sharma will be hoping for a far less stressful affair against the Afghans.

Strong spin department

Afghanistan have a fantastic spin attack spearheaded by the peerless Rashid Khan, but they need other aspects of their cricket, most notably their batting, to express themselves. That won't be straightforward against a high-quality Indian attack with most bases covered. India must decide if they play all three spinners again or go with an additional seamer in deference to the conditions. And whether that fourth quick will be Shardul Thakur, who can also bat, or Mohammed Shami, so capable of ensuring that additional batting depth at No. 8 is redundant.