Afghanistan will be New Zealand’s first opponent at the T20 World Cup in 2024. On Saturday, June 8, both teams will play in the tournament’s fourteenth match at Providence Stadium in Georgetown, Guyana. The Black Caps will be hoping to start the tournament strong since this will be their opening matchup.
Kane Williamson, the skipper of New Zealand, recently stated publicly that his team will not be taking Afghanistan lightly and that they will give it their all.
In addition, Williamson praised Afghanistan’s team for its recent improvements and called them one of the tournament’s better bowling-minded teams.
“Certainly a number of players in their side… I mean, all of the players, to be honest, they have such a skillful team, one of the better bowling attacks, I think, in the competition,” Williamson was reported to have stated by Cricbuzz.
And the participation and quantity of Afghani players in franchise competitions have been demonstrated. Additionally, they are becoming increasingly proficient in playing elite cricket. Also, their strength in the ODI format was demonstrated at the most recent World Cup. Thus, a group of formidable opponents and a genuinely talented team,” he continued.
That’s simply how the beast is: Kane Williamson
It is noteworthy that Williamson had not played much T20 cricket prior to the T20 World Cup. Before he was hurt, his final Twenty20 international match was against Pakistan in January 2024. In the IPL 2024, he also did not play a lot for the Gujarat Titans.
Indeed. Well, it’s simply the way the beast is. Having participated in multiple IPLs, I occasionally play more and occasionally less, and a large part of that is due to the distribution of overseas players. According to Williamson, it’s simply a matter of trying to support the team as much as possible while also devoting a significant amount of time to other aspects of your game and the fitness aspect of things.