The losses may have been tough, but they never stop one from learning. This is exactly what transpired with Afghanistan batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz who revealed that he has been taking batting tips from the likes of India’s talisman batter Virat Kohli and the iconic WC-winning ‘Captain Cool’ MS Dhoni to help improve his performance with the bat.
Gurbaz had a fairly rough start with the bat over the first two innings in the 3-match series against India, nothcing up only 37 runs and failing to provide his side that jolt of attacking energy off the bat. But, when opportunity arose again in a dire situation as Afghanistan were tasked with chasing down a mammoth 212 runs, Gurbaz fired on all cylinders in exceptional fashion.
The opener slashed and cut his way to a stellar fifty off just 32 balls, as he stitched up a defining 93-run opening stand with Afghanistan skipper Ibrahim Zadran to put his team in position to try and chase down the target set.
Speaking to ANI, Gurbaz said, “I always talked to Virat and MS Dhoni about how to improve my cricket. I have a lot of things in my mind and I have to work on it. I was talking to Virat (bhai) about my cricket journey and how I should grow, and reach the next level.”
Unfortunately for the Afghans, despite the best efforts of Gurbaz and Gulbadin Naib, the visitors would end up losing the encounter after not one but two Super Overs.
“It was a good learning for us. This kind of game can happen. We also enjoyed the game and learned a lot from it. Playing against players like Virat and Rohit Sharma gave us a lot of confidence and learning. I hope we get a lot of series against India in future,” Gurbaz exclaimed.
“We put our all in the World Cup and it was a hard-fought competition. There are some places we need to improve. I hope next time we will not make these kind of mistakes,” he added.
India clinched the T20I series 3-0 against the Afghans and are up next to faceoff against England in a five-match Test series starting from January 25.
(with input from agencies)
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