[PAK vs AFG] Afghanistan Are Favourites Against Pakistan: Ramiz Raja

Ramiz Raja Picks His Favorite: The on-field rivalry between Pakistan and Afghanistan is still in its growing stages but the thrilling finishes, crowd disturbances, and scuffles between players are a few of the things that keep everyone hooked to this clash between the two Asian Giants.

On Monday, Pakistan and Afghanistan will lock horns with each other in the ICC World Cup 2023 match at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Monday.

Afghanistan’s spin trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi can pose a challenge to the Babar Azam-led side. The way Afghanistan deploys Rashid will also influence the result.

Besides Rashid Khan, there are plenty of headaches for Pakistan including the form of captain Babar Azam, who continues to struggle against spin.

Afghanistan Are Favourites Against Pakistan: Ramiz Raja

Meanwhile, ahead of the clash between Pakistan and Afghanistan, former cricketer Ramiz Raja has expressed his view that Afghanistan might have an edge over Pakistan when they meet in the World Cup 2023 match, particularly if the pitch favors spin in Chennai on Monday.

Talking about the upcoming game on his YouTube channel, Ramiz Raja highlighted Pakistan’s historical difficulties in facing high-quality spin bowling, suggesting that the Afghan spinners could dominate the game. He said:

“It will be difficult for Pakistan to make a turnaround. Anything can happen in Chennai in their next match is against Afghanistan. Keeping in mind the performance of Pakistan batters against spin, anything can happen here. If it’s a spinning wicket, I think Afghanistan will be slightly ahead as favorites,”

Pakistan and Afghanistan WC 2023 Squads

Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Wasim