Was the tag of "2nd Best Team in Asia" too big to handle for the Afghanistan team?

[The Bald Eagle]

Afghanistan was on a roll before the UAE Tri-Nation series and was keep dishing out upset defeats to big sides every now and then. Infact, in the T20I format they managed to feature in the Semi-final in 2024 after eliminating Aussies too.

But since that fateful pre-tournament press conference last month where they happily embraced the second best team title, they have been falling down the slope. And has lost 2 times against a 7th rank Pakistan (in a one-sided fashion in Tri-Nation series final), has lost to Bangladesh for the first time in their history outside Bangladesh and now has bottled a big chance to defeat Sri Lanka despite Mohammad Nabi's 32 runs heroics in the last over.

So the simple question is whether it was the pressure of this tag that overwhelmed them or was the "manufactured" nature of the tag that exposed them big time in Asia Cup 2025?

 

[Rana]

Rashid Khan is a rubbish captain.

 

[Usman Chadda]

You cannot hope to win much with a non-existent batting line-up. Today Nabi did something extraordinary and it was still not enough to undo the garbage that their top order had carried out in the early overs.

Ibrahim Zadran is not a T20 player, neither are Jannat or Rasooli.

Cricket is a batter’s game and you need effective players or you’ll be left behind. Pakistan would have suffered the same fate in this group, aa none of our players can currently do what Tanzid Hasan and Kusal Mendis did to the Afghanistan bowlers at the top.

 

[Rana]

Ibrahim Zadran is not a T20 player, neither are Jannat or Rasooli.

Soon Atal will also fade away

 

[Local.Dada]

Firstly what format?

In tests they are non-entity.

In odis I feel they are behind Pak and SL

In T20s they definitely have a case. To be honest all 4 Asian teams apart from India are more or less on par but given Afghan has more in demand super star players in leagues etc, I will say currently that tag is fair.

As I said the difference is marginal between the 4 non-Indian Asian teams. So anyone can claim that honor.

Overall for all 3 formats I feel still it’s between Pak and SL and surprise surprise for some I will put Pak ahead

 

[The Bald Eagle]

@Devadwal mate can you plz book a ticket for me....looking forward to this final

Thread 'What's your bold prediction for Asia Cup 2025?'

Sep 8, 2025

Asia cup is starting from Tommorow. So predicts the one bold prediction for Asia cup.

My Bold prediction - Afghanistan will play final against india.

• Devadwal

 

[Devadwal]

None is clear 2nd best team in Asia after india. Anyone's can beat each other on own day's. Gap is very close

Don't forget Afghanistan played last semifinals of World T20 and finish above rest of Asian team( not count india ) in World Cup 2023.

They finished above Pakistan, Bangladesh ( Lanka didn't even qualified) etc in champion trophy 2025 as well.

Only this Asia cup they have failed and delusional people's came out from their cave to bashed them just because they hate Afghanistan as nation .

 

[Devadwal]

@Devadwal mate can you plz book a ticket for me....looking forward to this final

Thread 'What's your bold prediction for Asia Cup 2025?'

Sep 8, 2025

Asia cup is starting from Tommorow. So predicts the one bold prediction for Asia cup.

My Bold prediction - Afghanistan will play final against india.

• Devadwal

Yes got it wrong . But bhai tumhare to sare prediction hi Wrong hote hai.

 

[Rajdeep]

They were in a tough group.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Afghanistan are a very mercurial side with some very obvious flaws. Their success is usually based on maximizing the resources they have, and the conditions being in favor of their spinners. That didn't happen this time around because the wicket in Abu Dhabi was fairly flat with not much in it for the bowlers. In Dubai, I think they could have beaten both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

Even the pitches they got in West Indies during the World Cup were much slower and kinda perfect for their bowlers and batters.

 

[Mas-LFC]

Laughable tag “2nd best”, ranked 10th in T20I behind rest of the asian teams.

 

[Rana]

A big slap on the face of Basit Ali, Tanvir Ahmed and Rashid Latif….

You know what?

A big slap on the face of Shoaib Akhtar too.

They were all rooting for Afghanistan because they wanted Pakistan to lose and they can run their agendas

 

[Local.Dada]

They were in a tough group.

The way to make Asia cup fair is have a 3 tier format. Have a qualifying super 4 so that Pak- Ban- SL- Afghan will qualify as 2nd tier and then the 2 qualifying teams from tier 2 will play India in a final super 3. That will make the tournament fair and interesting.

 

[Rana]

@Devadwal mate can you plz book a ticket for me....looking forward to this final

Thread 'What's your bold prediction for Asia Cup 2025?'

Sep 8, 2025

Asia cup is starting from Tommorow. So predicts the one bold prediction for Asia cup.

My Bold prediction - Afghanistan will play final against india.

• Devadwal

“Yeh tou Samosa ho gaya guru!”

 

[sweep_shot]

Truth be told, there is no undisputed #2 in Asia currently.

BD, SL, AFG, and Pakistan - they all can beat each other.

But, if you have to pick a #2, I think it is either Pakistan or Sri Lanka.

 

[gazza619]

It was a surprising result. Time to become humble for Afghanistan. Work harder on your game, respect the opposition and avoid hate.

 

[Rana]

BD, SL, AFG, and Pakistan - they all can beat each other

Hahaha not so fast sweepy

 

[Devadwal]

“Yeh tou Samosa ho gaya guru!”

USA se jeeto phle Jake for samosa khana or fir cake cut karna

Vase enjoy as much as you want because 21st September ko Rana ko rona hi hai

.

 

[sweep_shot]

Hahaha not so fast sweepy

Why not?

Gap is not huge among those 4 countries currently.

 

[jnaveen1980]

They have to introduce new players from U19 batch. At this point they lack certain ingredients.

 

[G0rmintAunty]

The way to make Asia cup fair is have a 3 tier format. Have a qualifying super 4 so that Pak- Ban- SL- Afghan will qualify as 2nd tier and then the 2 qualifying teams from tier 2 will play India in a final super 3. That will make the tournament fair and interesting.

Or we could just give India the cup from the start and save everyone a lot of time. Then we won't need to come up with these weirder by the day formats proposed by Indian inflated egos.

 

[Usman Chadda]

Soon Atal will also fade away

I actually rate him as their best T20 batter

 

[sweep_shot]

Or we could just give India the cup from the start and save everyone a lot of time. Then we won't need to come up with these weirder by the day formats proposed by Indian inflated egos.

I think Asia Cup should have a round robin system.

BD, AFG, PAK, IND, SL, and 1 associate.

Round-robin + final.

But, I guess Indians want to make money. So, they added this ridiculous Super Four stage. It is not needed at all.

 

[Devadwal]

@The Bald Eagle check this thread for 2025 bold prediction. My 99% prediction was spot on whole delusional and wannabe prediction rate is close to zero.

Thread 'Drop your bold cricket predictions for the year 2025'

Dec 31, 2024

The year 2024 was any team's year except Pakistan and West Indies. Both had to face some horrible defeats especially Pakistan. But somehow Pakistan managed to end on high the year 2024. So with a lot of action packed events coming ahead in 2025, which team, player, coach or franchise do you see making the most of 2025.

So guys drop out your bold cricket predictions for 2025

• The Bald Eagle
• Replies: 86
• Forum: Cricket

 

[TexasRattlesnake]

Asia Cup needs a more fair grouping system.

Getting grouped with India is a win for Pak.

 

[Hellion]

Laughable tag “2nd best”, ranked 10th in T20I behind rest of the asian teams.

At the time when this press conference was held , Bangladesh were 10th

 

[jnaveen1980]

They didn't ask for this tag. Given the lack of infrastructure they are doing well. They can beat other Asian sides on their day.

 

[Wasim Ghulam]

They didn't ask for this tag. Given the lack of infrastructure they are doing well. They can beat other Asian sides on their day.

Most Afghan Players play top leagues including IPL. They are expected to defend 170 with bowling quality they have. on field they are too emotional and somehow they qualified for Semis in 2024 Just like Surprise Kenya Qualification in 2003

 

[Hellion]

Said this earlier in the original thread as well . SL is the 2nd best Asian side.

 

[Champ_Pal]

They have not been playing well in the Tri nation cup too 2 weeks ago.

Very disappointing show by Afghans overall. They need to improve their batting asap.

 

[Devadwal]

Laughable tag “2nd best”, ranked 10th in T20I behind rest of the asian teams.

Bangladesh should first win a T20 series against UAE and USA. Last time Both team defeated Bangladesh in T20 Series

 

[Champ_Pal]

Most Afghan Players play top leagues including IPL. They are expected to defend 170 with bowling quality they have. on field they are too emotional and somehow they qualified for Semis in 2024 Just like Surprise Kenya Qualification in 2003

Their players that play in ipl are all bowlers. Rashid, Mujeeb, Nabi, Noor and Ghazanfar.

Omarzai and Gurbaz are the only batsmen that play in Ipl. Afghan batting is not good at all. They will never challenge good teams with that batting order. Rashid Khan and bowlers cannot keep bailing out their poor batsmen.

 

[sweep_shot]

Most Afghan Players play top leagues including IPL. They are expected to defend 170 with bowling quality they have. on field they are too emotional and somehow they qualified for Semis in 2024 Just like Surprise Kenya Qualification in 2003

Yes.

They upset Australia in 2024 World T20 on a slow and low pitch. I don't think Australia would lose many games to Afghanistan. That was an upset.

It was like how Kenya made it to 2003 WC semi-final. Kenya upset SL back then also.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Most Afghan Players play top leagues including IPL. They are expected to defend 170 with bowling quality they have. on field they are too emotional and somehow they qualified for Semis in 2024 Just like Surprise Kenya Qualification in 2003

When you play for leagues there will be some other fast bowlers from other countries to bail you out. You need a good unit. Cannot be good just in one area and be consistently winning. Have you look at their team strike rate in T20s?

 

[Wasim Ghulam]

When you play for leagues there will be some other fast bowlers from other countries to bail you out. You need a good unit. Cannot be good just in one area and be consistently winning. Have you look at their team strike rate in T20s?

Yes I have. Thats why i do not consider them second Best. Its probably Sri Lanka atm

 

[jnaveen1980]

Said this earlier in the original thread as well . SL is the 2nd best Asian side.

World standing is important. Being 2nd in Asia means nothing. You still are going to get whipped by SENA teams.


Last 2 years these 4 teams against SENA teams in T20 internationals

 

[Josh]

Afghanistan has made good progress but they don't have good batsmen to dominate the cricketing world yet. It's expensive and you need good infra to produce good batsmen. Pakistan is struggling with its well established infra, how can Afghanistan become a dominant team without good batters.

 

[TexasRattlesnake]

World standing is important. Being 2nd in Asia means nothing. You still are going to get whipped by SENA teams.


Last 2 years these 4 teams against SENA teams in T20 internationals

Those 4 wins by Pak are against NZ B teams I believe.

Can also add India as an opponent there as they are superior to SENA.

All three of Afg, SL and Bang have been whitewashed by India (plus Afg/Bang defeated in the T20 WC too)

 

[JaDed]

Yes when they are expected to win they lose very much like their neighbors, the moment everyone expects PCT to do well lol.

 

[JaDed]

Laughable tag “2nd best”, ranked 10th in T20I behind rest of the asian teams.

The other Asian teams are ranked 7,8,9.. this is the worst Asia has been in Loi ever

 

[Local.Dada]

Yes when they are expected to win they lose very much like their neighbors, the moment everyone expects PCT to do well lol.

One thing where Afghan and to some extent Bangladesh fans are better at are, they will support and cheer their players instead of abusing them even if they lose . They are highly emotional though. Ind-Pak fans are extremely toxic towards their cricketers.

Srilankan fans seem more like WI fans, they just go to stadiums to have a good time.

 

[JaDed]

One thing where Afghan and to some extent Bangladesh fans are better at are, they will support and cheer their players instead of abusing them even if they lose . They are highly emotional though. Ind-Pak fans are extremely toxic towards their cricketers.

Srilankan fans seem more like WI fans, they just go to stadiums to have a good time.

Lankans are educated and more chill overall, Tamizhans or Telugu folks will never do that to their teams in IPL or national as well.. they are along those lines.

BD doesn’t do that coz their performance has been terrible overall..(in Tournaments )so anything is a plus.

India-Pak have seen good performances and WC wins, so the mercurial fans on these sides just can’t take it with mediocre performances.

 

[The Bald Eagle]

@The Bald Eagle check this thread for 2025 bold prediction. My 99% prediction was spot on whole delusional and wannabe prediction rate is close to zero.

Thread 'Drop your bold cricket predictions for the year 2025'

Dec 31, 2024

The year 2024 was any team's year except Pakistan and West Indies. Both had to face some horrible defeats especially Pakistan. But somehow Pakistan managed to end on high the year 2024. So with a lot of action packed events coming ahead in 2025, which team, player, coach or franchise do you see making the most of 2025.

So guys drop out your bold cricket predictions for 2025

• The Bald Eagle
• Replies: 86
• Forum: Cricket

Hahah...I told you before bro, I love your bold predictions

 

[jnaveen1980]

The other Asian teams are ranked 7,8,9.. this is the worst Asia has been in this format

Of all the teams besides pakistan only Afghanistan is more capable of beating a SENA country in ICC event.

Last 5 years in ICC LOI (ODI & T20) events would have been 5 but for Mujeeb's drop against Maxwell.

 

[Savak]

Afghanistan did well when they benefited from carrying zero expectations. Having upset so many major teams, the novelty factor was going to wear out and the opposition was going to take them more seriously and the Afghan players had to deal with the challenge of performing as per expectations. A lot of their players are now suffering from super-star prima dona syndome. The captain Rashid Khan himself openly misbehaves with Pakistani umpires without any fear of consequences.

 

[Devadwal]

Hahah...I told you before bro, I love your bold predictions

now tell me one bold prediction for 21st September match( other than Indians victory because it's not a bold prediction but reality) .

 

[Savak]

Asia Cup format should have the 1992 ODI WC system, every team needs to play each other.

 

[sweep_shot]

Asia Cup format should have the 1992 ODI WC system, every team needs to play each other.

Agree.

BD, SL, AFG, PAK, IND, and 1 associate.

Everyone faces each other. Round-robin.

 

[JaDed]

Agree.

BD, SL, AFG, PAK, IND, and 1 associate.

Everyone faces each other. Round-robin.

Nepal has a lot of cricket fans, and they couldn’t make it but HK did am amazing job esp with the Lankan game.. I do think for tournaments with less significance should have 2-3 associates.

 

[sweep_shot]

Nepal has a lot of cricket fans, and they couldn’t make it but HK did am amazing job esp with the Lankan game.. I do think for tournaments with less significance should have 2-3 associates.

Nepal couldn't qualify. They only have themselves to blame.

Associates should have a qualifier tournament. Winner go to Asia Cup. Asia Cup should only have 1 associate maximum.

 

[JaDed]

Of all the teams besides pakistan only Afghanistan is more capable of beating a SENA country in ICC event.

Last 5 years in ICC LOI (ODI & T20) events would have been 5 but for Mujeeb's drop against Maxwell.

Honestly Lanka seems like a more consistent team but they don’t look like team that would win any ICC tournament for next 5-6 years.

 

[RyanRyan10]

The way to make Asia cup fair is have a 3 tier format. Have a qualifying super 4 so that Pak- Ban- SL- Afghan will qualify as 2nd tier and then the 2 qualifying teams from tier 2 will play India in a final super 3. That will make the tournament fair and interesting.

You don't understand cricket (5)

 

[JaDed]

Nepal couldn't qualify. They only have themselves to blame.

Associates should have a qualifier tournament. Winner go to Asia Cup. Asia Cup should only have 1 associate maximum.

They do.. but how else would they get any opportunity.. HK Nepal UAE are good minnows for the facilities they have..

 

[Major]

Firstly what format?

In tests they are non-entity.

In odis I feel they are behind Pak and SL

In T20s they definitely have a case. To be honest all 4 Asian teams apart from India are more or less on par but given Afghan has more in demand super star players in leagues etc, I will say currently that tag is fair.

As I said the difference is marginal between the 4 non-Indian Asian teams. So anyone can claim that honor.

Overall for all 3 formats I feel still it’s between Pak and SL and surprise surprise for some I will put Pak ahead

If they have a case why they ddint qualify for the next round?

 

[Major]

They have a rubbish captain and rubbish batting line up.

These pitches and the bowlers they have was ideal situation to win.

Mujjeb is rubbish, moved on from him

 

[Local.Dada]

If they have a case why they ddint qualify for the next round?

Because it is touch and go between the remaining 4 teams. They are marginally ahead doesn’t mean they can’t lose on a given day. On a good day those teams can upset India too. It happens. Aus was knocked out in early rounds last 2 WT20s doesn’t make them a bad team or weaker than SL.

Speaking solely about T20

 

[jnaveen1980]

Honestly Lanka seems like a more consistent team but they don’t look like team that would win any ICC tournament for next 5-6 years.

But they meekly surrender against SENA teams these days. In 2022 world T20 Stoinis massacred Srilankan spinners.

 

[RyanRyan10]

Because it is touch and go between the remaining 4 teams. They are marginally ahead doesn’t mean they can’t lose on a given day. On a good day those teams can upset India too. It happens. Aus was knocked out in early rounds last 2 WT20s doesn’t make them a bad team or weaker than SL.

Speaking solely about T20

Aus performed better than SL in both the t20 WCs. At least give a better example but like I keep saying, you don't understand cricket.

 

[Major]

Because it is touch and go between the remaining 4 teams. They are marginally ahead doesn’t mean they can’t lose on a given day. On a good day those teams can upset India too. It happens. Aus was knocked out in early rounds last 2 WT20s doesn’t make them a bad team or weaker than SL.

Speaking solely about T20

How is it touch and go when they are not even amongst the top 4 teams qulifying.

Really dumb thing to say.

India is also the top Asia team if they win this tournament.

 

[jnaveen1980]

It comes down to match ups. When they are matched up against other Asian sides who play spin reasonably well they struggle because they lack ingredients that topple these countries.

 

[NishanKonar]

Sri Lanka vs Pakistan will decide the 2nd best team in Asia

On a different note - wud love to see India play its B side in next Asia Cup. Wud be great exposure for youngsters like Priyansh Arya and Vaibhav Suryavanshi and also make the event more competitive

 

[BDfanforever]

Of all the teams besides pakistan only Afghanistan is more capable of beating a SENA country in ICC event.

Last 5 years in ICC LOI (ODI & T20) events would have been 5 but for Mujeeb's drop against Maxwell.

This will start to change. All these years BD pace bowling was pathetic. Now, it's way better. I think in the upcoming years if BD improves their batting, they can challenge SENA teams more often than before.

 

[Josh]

It comes down to match ups. When they are matched up against other Asian sides who play spin reasonably well they struggle because they lack ingredients that topple these countries.

What's Afghanistan's record against Sri Lanka as they play spinners very well ?

 

[DeadlyVenom]

I thought Afghan cricket would be finished when Taliban returned. It is to their credit they have hung on for so long despite their limited resources.

 

[NishanKonar]

How is it touch and go when they are not even amongst the top 4 teams qulifying.

Really dumb thing to say.

India is also the top Asia team if they win this tournament.

Its a bit unfortunate due to stupid scheduling

I mean India & Pakistan needs to beat UAE & Oman to get into 2nd round while Afghanistan , Bangladesh and Sri Lanka battle it out in the other group

 

[Josh]

This will start to change. All these years BD pace bowling was pathetic. Now, it's way better. I think in the upcoming years if BD improves their batting, they can challenge SENA teams more often than before.

But batting looks even weaker compared to previous guys like Tamim, Shakib and Mushy

 

[light]

To be fair, they made it to the semi final of a world cup whereas the others didn't. But in this asia cup, their performance was rubbish - rashid khan is also a terrible captain - he is seen many a times screaming at his players. This does not help a team when they are afraid of their captain. Also Janat Karim, what is the point of this guy?

 

[Major]

Its a bit unfortunate due to stupid scheduling

I mean India & Pakistan needs to beat UAE & Oman to get into 2nd round while Afghanistan , Bangladesh and Sri Lanka battle it out in the other group

Bangladesh is a crap team. Sri lanka has a crap bowling attack and its batting revolves around its openers.

Only rajapaksa is a good bowler in their team.

If afg is to be the second bestz should had beaten sri lanka with 170 or bangaldesh the other day.

This asia cup will decide who is the best and second best team here

 

[Hellion]

Bangladesh is a crap team. Sri lanka has a crap bowling attack and its batting revolves around its openers.

Only rajapaksa is a good bowler in their team.

If afg is to be the second bestz should had beaten sri lanka with 170 or bangaldesh the other day.

This asia cup will decide who is the best and second best team here

Who the hell is this bowler Rajapaksa?

 

[Local.Dada]

How is it touch and go when they are not even amongst the top 4 teams qulifying.

Really dumb thing to say.

India is also the top Asia team if they win this tournament.

Are you saying in this tournament or overall? In this tournament they are no.5 duh!!! Overall I don’t think difference between remaining 4 non-Indian Asian teams is much. If tommorow there is another Asia cup in a week these same results might look different.

 

[Hellion]

Anyway it's good to see the fight between PAK/AFG/SL/BD to determine 7-10 in ICC T20 rankings.

SL in the lead now, ranked 7.

 

[rhony]

I think Afg is on par with SL, better than BD and slightly below Pak. They are definitely better than what they showed today. Top order flopped today and its admirable they made a match out of it.

 

[Wasim Ghulam]

Their players that play in ipl are all bowlers. Rashid, Mujeeb, Nabi, Noor and Ghazanfar.

Omarzai and Gurbaz are the only batsmen that play in Ipl. Afghan batting is not good at all. They will never challenge good teams with that batting order. Rashid Khan and bowlers cannot keep bailing out their poor batsmen.

they have world class bowlers. Thats why i said it is expected of AFG to defend 170 which is total Rashid wanted at toss

 

[Major]

Who the hell is this bowler Rajapaksa?

Sorry i meant that leggie hasaranga

 

[Major]

Are you saying in this tournament or overall? In this tournament they are no.5 duh!!! Overall I don’t think difference between remaining 4 non-Indian Asian teams is much. If tommorow there is another Asia cup in a week these same results might look different.

The difference between all 4 asia teams will be infront of us after the final

 

[BDfanforever]

I think Afg is on par with SL, better than BD and slightly below Pak. They are definitely better than what they showed today. Top order flopped today and its admirable they made a match out of it.

SL is better than Afg in T20 by ranking and by today's match.

Afg is on par with BD by ranking and by group stage match up. I expect BD to make significant improvements in T20s in the upcoming months.

 

[Local.Dada]

The difference between all 4 asia teams will be infront of us after the final

So you are telling me in all the years of watching cricket you have never seen 1st or 2nd team getting knocked out and lower teams getting ahead?

Afghan is no.2 marginally (keyword) based on the superstar players in their team on demand all over the world. They had a bad tournament and the other teams played well. Simple.

 

[Major]

So you are telling me in all the years of watching cricket you have never seen 1st or 2nd team getting knocked out and lower teams getting ahead?

Afghan is no.2 marginally (keyword) based on the superstar players in their team on demand all over the world. They had a bad tournament and the other teams played well. Simple.

lol dont give me stupid criterias. The no.1 team will be the one winning Asia cup and the 2nd team will be its runner ups.

Its funny how you guys make ur own imaginery no.1s and 2s while a tournament is on going.

If a no.1 (self proclaimed) team is out of the tournament than its not really the no.1 team is it?

 

[Local.Dada]

lol dont give me stupid criterias. The no.1 team will be the one winning Asia cup and the 2nd team will be its runner ups.

Its funny how you guys make ur own imaginery no.1s and 2s while a tournament is on going.

If a no.1 (self proclaimed) team is out of the tournament than its not really the no.1 team is it?

WT20 is a bigger tournament. USA qualified but Pak got knocked out. Afghan reached semis. So UsA must be a stronger team than Pakistan then by your logic.

Let me simplify. In that tournament UsA was definitely better than Pakistan. Overall don’t think so.

Apply the same logic here. What is so complicated? Afghan is still the 2nd strongest T20 team in Asia. Will beat Pak 6 /10 times, SL 6/10 times, Bangladesh 7/10 times and India 1/15 times. Makes them the 2nd best team in my book in T20.

 

[jnaveen1980]

lol dont give me stupid criterias. The no.1 team will be the one winning Asia cup and the 2nd team will be its runner ups.

Its funny how you guys make ur own imaginery no.1s and 2s while a tournament is on going.

If a no.1 (self proclaimed) team is out of the tournament than its not really the no.1 team is it?

Pakistan has won a grand total of 2 Asia cups in 40 plus years history even when they were supposedly best in Asia. They only reached 5 finals. So they were not even no.2 in many instances going by this. No.1 no.2 ranking is out there in ICC ranking. India has been no.1 since 2022.