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Afghanistan are above minnows category now

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B_Positive

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In recent years, Afghanistan has improved leaps and bounds. They have beaten the likes of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies very frequently. They are not yet in the top league but their progress is remarkable and they are putting forward large steps in that direction. So can we say that they are officially above Minnows category: above Bangladesh but below Pakistan/Australia?
 
Agreed although I think Bangladesh are still slightly ahead of Afghanistan in ODI'S.

Afghanistan are not a side to be taken lightly
 
This must be a satire post by OP. Above BD in ODI and below PAK/AUS? How bad do you think team BD is in ODI OP? Its halirious how you guys think BD is such a bad team espacially in ODI. Hell even India plays them with caution.
 
They are not above Bangladesh as of now but they will be in a few years time, specially in LOIs.
 
Yeap... Mal, hk, afg, uganda, png, all are below pakistan but above BANGLADESH. Yes OP you are right.
 
Afghanistan are a passionate cricket nation also the players give it all . They play with plan also the main reason I see Afghanistan getting better and better is becuase talent is immense and there will be huge pool of players to select from . U19 level is quite strong too . When Shapoor and Dawlat return it looks even stronger side
 
I think our batsmen might struggle vs their spin bowlers. Could be a closer game than some of us expect
 
Their recent success is mainly due to spinners, they just need two decent (not even "good") batsmen/fast bowlers and they'll be competitive against all major teams/in all conditions in the LOI format IMO.

I think in the next 5-10 years they'll definitely get rid off the "minnow" tag (just look at how competitive they already are at U19 level, and unlike Nepal who also is, I think they can translate it at intl. level as well.)
 
Afghans are hungry for success, & that's what is driving them. In a country where it's citizens aren't sure if they'll be alive by the next day, these guys are giving them a reason to smile. I've seen these guys practice once, & trust me, they give it their all even when they are practising.

I don't think their batting is still there, but once they find another 1-2 solid batsmen, they'll be a tough nut to crack, specially in Asian conditions.
 
They are getting better and its really inspiring to see.

However they have to beat a big fish, still a lot to do
 
They've done well so far. Even Ireland have shown promise by beating test teams like west indies Pakistan and Bangladesh

But now is when the real challenge begins. Can Afghanistan find some dynamic batsmen and quality pacers?

Good luck to them for the future
 
Afghan cricket team is still minnows but the more exposure they get the more positive results they will get in the long run, I can see them beating W.I , Sri lanka and bangladesh regularly in shorter formats of the game.
 
They are not a pushover team anymore but still they are a minnow team. Hopefully with more match against top odi teams they will become a good team.
 
They are currently in that transition phase between "minow" and "non-minow" alongside Ireland and Zimbabwe (at full strength).

They will get there, it is only a matter of time before we see a top fast bowling talent emerge from Afghanistan. Interestingly, before Rashid Khan and co emerged onto the scene, Afghanistan's bowling was mainly about their decent fast bowlers (Shapoor and Dawlat Zadran). I feel they are and will be a team in the mould of Pakistan, more of a bowling side.

Bangladesh on the other hand are a lower tier "non-minnow", at the same level as West Indies and Sri Lanka.
 
Last edited:
Amjid Javed said:
Afghan cricket team is still minnows but the more exposure they get the more positive results they will get in the long run, I can see them beating W.I , Sri lanka and bangladesh regularly in shorter formats of the game.
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And Pak, NZ
 
Afghanistan as a team have grown much faster then Bangladesh. I would say they are almost equal to Bangladesh now. They have developed much faster then Bangladesh did there is no doubt about it.
 
B_Positive said:
In recent years, Afghanistan has improved leaps and bounds. They have beaten the likes of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, West Indies very frequently. They are not yet in the top league but their progress is remarkable and they are putting forward large steps in that direction. So can we say that they are officially above Minnows category: above Bangladesh but below Pakistan/Australia?
Click to expand...

Brother B_Positive,
Afghanistan is a rising team, and no doubt about it, but putting them above Bangladesh little bit funny, (and exposes your hatred towards Bangladesh). Please give AFG some times (year or two) and then we will see where they stand. It is too early for you to declare them "World Champion" (when you put them next to PAK/AUS).
 
India and Pakistan will beat them at their own game, but if they can produce a couple of batsmen, they can consistently trouble the non-Asian sides in Asia. Their spin attack is genuinely world class.
 
They need a hamid hassan type fast bowler and 2 technically sound batsmen like Babar/haris. Keeper Shezad is fine at the top.
 
What Afghanistan has got going for them is the fact that they have their bowling sorted out and is the dominant facet of their game. This has allowed them to compete with established sides at a very rapid pace.

If you look at the history of minnows (Bangladesh, Kenya, Ireland, Netherlands), the common denominator among them has always been that their batting has been better than their bowling. When your batting is greater than your bowling as a minnow, you will struggle to win games in ODIs because stronger teams will flay your bowling attack to all corners. Even Sri Lanka only became a strong team when they discovered Vaas and Muralitharan.

With Afghanistan, their bowling is very good for a minnow side and their spin attack constricts even the best of the best in world cricket. So if the batsmen score 250, Afghanistan will always be in a shout to win the match, even against the likes of Australia/England in Asian conditions. Afghanistan just needs to find 1 world class batsman and 1 good batsman and they will be better than West Indies in Tests and ODIs.
 
To borrow a cliche, I'd say they are inconsistent, but a dark horse, capable of beating anyone on their day, on account of their talented bowling attack. Ie the comparison should be Pakistan ca 2014.
 
Lol at the thread. Lol again.

Buddy this is ODI format of cricket. Afghanistan beat BD twice in 5, SL 1 in 3, BD ranked 7th SL ranked 8th, been this way since 2015. But you took T20 into ODI consideration, how genius of you. In T20s even Hong kong beat BD 2014, England lost to Netherlands 2009, I believe Zimbabwe beat mighty Aus in 2007 World T20. T20 can give you better chance, BD havent had been finding proper ways at t20, but recent times changing Nidahas trophy chased over 200runs, highest chase in T20 by any asian side that to against Sri Lanka in SL, winning T20 series against currebt T20 champs Windies away from home, winning both T20 and ODI.

But clearly this op is a clear hater of BD, and probably makes duas bd to fail so he can try degrade them further.

Afghanistan are nowhere near BD in ODI’s. Let them rank top 8 first, stay there for a while and go past on head to head record, in odis.
 
Hasan2K8 said:
Lol at the thread. Lol again.

Buddy this is ODI format of cricket. Afghanistan beat BD twice in 5, SL 1 in 3, BD ranked 7th SL ranked 8th, been this way since 2015. But you took T20 into ODI consideration, how genius of you. In T20s even Hong kong beat BD 2014, England lost to Netherlands 2009, I believe Zimbabwe beat mighty Aus in 2007 World T20. T20 can give you better chance, BD havent had been finding proper ways at t20, but recent times changing Nidahas trophy chased over 200runs, highest chase in T20 by any asian side that to against Sri Lanka in SL, winning T20 series against currebt T20 champs Windies away from home, winning both T20 and ODI.

But clearly this op is a clear hater of BD, and probably makes duas bd to fail so he can try degrade them further.

Afghanistan are nowhere near BD in ODI’s. Let them rank top 8 first, stay there for a while and go past on head to head record, in odis.
Click to expand...

I declare it as POTW. Great. Thanks.OP has been nailed
 
They are in the bottom tier of ODI cricket, along with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Ireland, however they are the best out of those teams.
 
worldwidecricket said:
Brother B_Positive,
Afghanistan is a rising team, and no doubt about it, but putting them above Bangladesh little bit funny, (and exposes your hatred towards Bangladesh). Please give AFG some times (year or two) and then we will see where they stand. It is too early for you to declare them "World Champion" (when you put them next to PAK/AUS).
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Hey man! You got me totally wrong. I dont hate Bangladesh at all. But I still believe that Afganistan are not below Bangladesh if not above them. Recently they got whitewashed vs Afghanistan. And I was just saying that they have good tools to beat Bangladesh more often.
 
Hasan2K8 said:
Lol at the thread. Lol again.

Buddy this is ODI format of cricket. Afghanistan beat BD twice in 5, SL 1 in 3, BD ranked 7th SL ranked 8th, been this way since 2015. But you took T20 into ODI consideration, how genius of you. In T20s even Hong kong beat BD 2014, England lost to Netherlands 2009, I believe Zimbabwe beat mighty Aus in 2007 World T20. T20 can give you better chance, BD havent had been finding proper ways at t20, but recent times changing Nidahas trophy chased over 200runs, highest chase in T20 by any asian side that to against Sri Lanka in SL, winning T20 series against currebt T20 champs Windies away from home, winning both T20 and ODI.

But clearly this op is a clear hater of BD, and probably makes duas bd to fail so he can try degrade them further.

Afghanistan are nowhere near BD in ODI’s. Let them rank top 8 first, stay there for a while and go past on head to head record, in odis.
Click to expand...

So they have beaten Bangladesh 2 out of 5 times right. And good teams dont get whitewashed by minnow teams. It can be a one off T20 but not whole series. Have Hong Kong whitewashed Bangladesh in a whole T20 series or have England lost T20 series to Netherlands? One or two off T20 wins is not what I have counted. So I still maintain that if they are not above Bangladesh then not below as well. And I am not Bangladesh hater but just wanted to show how much Afghanistan have improved.
 
B_Positive said:
So they have beaten Bangladesh 2 out of 5 times right. And good teams dont get whitewashed by minnow teams. It can be a one off T20 but not whole series. Have Hong Kong whitewashed Bangladesh in a whole T20 series or have England lost T20 series to Netherlands? One or two off T20 wins is not what I have counted. So I still maintain that if they are not above Bangladesh then not below as well. And I am not Bangladesh hater but just wanted to show how much Afghanistan have improved.
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Brother B_Positive
What you believe it is up to you and no one is asking you to change. Based on your analogy AFG whitewashed BD , and that is why they are equal or better than BD. Then I can use same logic, BD whitewashed PAK in ODI and T20 few years back and also whitewashed NZ twice, and based on your logic BD has become world champion, remember PAK won world cup once. So BD can call themselves world beater too... Would you agree to that or you are going to swallow your own lame logic?
 
worldwidecricket said:
Brother B_Positive
What you believe it is up to you and no one is asking you to change. Based on your analogy AFG whitewashed BD , and that is why they are equal or better than BD. Then I can use same logic, BD whitewashed PAK in ODI and T20 few years back and also whitewashed NZ twice, and based on your logic BD has become world champion, remember PAK won world cup once. So BD can call themselves world beater too... Would you agree to that or you are going to swallow your own lame logic?
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I think I am talking one on one. When Bangladesh whitewashed PAK. That team was definitely no where better than Bangladesh. I can not say the same for NZ as they may not be pretty good in Asian conditions. Afg and Bangladesh one on one matches have been competitive. And I never stated that if a team beats once upon a time World champions one on one then they become champs themselves. Please dont claim your made up logics to be mine.
 
I beg to differ. Teams like Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, West Indies (in LOIs), Sri Lanka ( in LOIs) are minnow level right now

I am putting Bangladesh there because after a spur of performances in 2015, their team tanked. So out of all they are borderline minnows.
 
Slim said:
I beg to differ. Teams like Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, West Indies (in LOIs), Sri Lanka ( in LOIs) are minnow level right now

I am putting Bangladesh there because after a spur of performances in 2015, their team tanked. So out of all they are borderline minnows.
Click to expand...

Your talking nonsense here. In no way shape or form did BD team tanked after 2015 performance. In fact, to my knowledge this is BD's highest rating of 93. If we did not lose that second ODI against WI, we would been close to 100 rating points now just few points behind Australia.

Pakistan team even after winning CT did not have 100 rating, it is only after beating the likes of SL, WI, Zim they went past 100 rating points.
 
B_Positive said:
So they have beaten Bangladesh 2 out of 5 times right. And good teams dont get whitewashed by minnow teams. It can be a one off T20 but not whole series. Have Hong Kong whitewashed Bangladesh in a whole T20 series or have England lost T20 series to Netherlands? One or two off T20 wins is not what I have counted. So I still maintain that if they are not above Bangladesh then not below as well. And I am not Bangladesh hater but just wanted to show how much Afghanistan have improved.
Click to expand...

Didn't Pakistan get whitewashed once by BD :ashwin. By your own definition, Pak is a not a good team? Lol.

Let AFG grow their wings. No need to pump them up for no reason. Time will come when they will automatically clip up the ladder and surpass quite a lot of team once they get their batting figured out. Both of their main spinners will also start to mature which will make them more threatning. Till then, both BD and SL are definitely above them. SL really did have a crappy tournament this time around. Injuries didn't help them either. And once again, it's funny how most of y'all PAK people rate BD in ODI so below. Would be a real shame if your team looses to BD. The way India is playing, this Asia cup might actually be a BD V PAK final.
 
Bangladesh fans have a tendency to overrate their team.

Its an average team who can lock horns with the best on a good day but in a 5 match series will struggle to beat anyone not named Afghanistan, Ireland , Uganda , PNG , Nepal etc.
 
Afghanistan should invite Bangladesh to play a full series of 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and 3 T20s to their home base in India soon. Will be a very close series, with easy win for BD in T20s.

Afghanistan did run BD very close in ODIs in BD in 2016 when Rashid was still new and Mujeeb was not playing for them. They have only got better since then.

January could be a good time to schedule this series. BD are playing Zim and WI in Oct and Nov, they should play with Afghanistan as well.
 
light said:
Didn't Pakistan get whitewashed once by BD :ashwin. By your own definition, Pak is a not a good team? Lol.

Let AFG grow their wings. No need to pump them up for no reason. Time will come when they will automatically clip up the ladder and surpass quite a lot of team once they get their batting figured out. Both of their main spinners will also start to mature which will make them more threatning. Till then, both BD and SL are definitely above them. SL really did have a crappy tournament this time around. Injuries didn't help them either. And once again, it's funny how most of y'all PAK people rate BD in ODI so below. Would be a real shame if your team looses to BD. The way India is playing, this Asia cup might actually be a BD V PAK final.
Click to expand...

I am not pumping them up but giving credit where its due. And I agree with you that the team that got whitewashed was not at all better than Bangladesh. But times have changed.
 
Afghanistan is still very new. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka are established sides. I don’t understand the need for comparison.

I have followed Afghanistan since the days their current seniors were u19 players and visited charsada. They were supposed to play one practice match but because they all got out very fast they played two matches after another and lost both.

They have come very long, but initially they struggled at every level. However their strength has been that they have ajusted very quickly whenever they have been promoted. The question is whether they will be able to do the same against the top 5 sides and in different conditions
 
I think we will see Afg conistently beat BD and SL from now and even challenge Pak and Ind, winning on occasions.
 
When did Afghanistan become this good? Not too long ago i was hearing they almost failed to qualify for the WC.
 
They are still minnows.They don't even have a single fast bowler so they won't compete against most of teams on flat wickets.They need to have 2 fast bowlers and 2 solid batsmen.
 
Until they have a good first class cricket system and has international level stadiums, you can't consider them a non minnow side.
 
As I stated earlier, having their cricket base moved from Pakistan to India was the best thing that could have happened to Afghan cricket. They now have access to much better coaching, facilities and infrastructure, and their best young talents get an early exposure in the IPL.

Pakistan played a big helping hand in establishing their cricket, but their rapid rise in the last few years is down to BCCI. If they were still stuck in Pakistan, their progress would have been stalled and they would be playing in the low quality PSL instead of the IPL, which is international cricket in franchise form.
 
In Asian conditions they can compete and beat teams. They need to play more cricket outside of Asia to improve further.
 
With performances in the Asia cup, I think so but lets see how they do in other tournaments in more testing conditions.
 
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