T2O World Cup 2021: No Team should take Afghanistan cricket team for granted , warns Gautam Gambhir

As the T20 World Cup is almost 2 months away all eyes will be on how will lift T20 World Cup this year. The contest between arch-rivals India and Pakistan will take place on October 24th, 2021 at Dubai.

The other team which is considered as the dark horse in the mega event is Afghanistan who has played in UAE conditions quite often and they will certainly give tough time to all opponents.

Former India cricketer and 2011 world cup winning member Gautam Gambhir said that no teams should take Afghanistan for granted in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2021 as they can be one of the contenders to win the marquee event.

“You can’t take Afghanistan lightly as well. I have always been a believer that if you want to talk about one team that is going to be a real underdog in this tournament, that must be Afghanistan. Additionally, they have got people like Rashid Khan, Mujeeb, and Mohd Nabi, you can’t take them, players, lightly.

“Yes, in a T20 format, anyone can beat anyone because it is a very individual kind of format, and we should not take any team for granted. For example, you should not take Afghanistan for granted. People like Rashid Khan can create upsets.”

ICC has divided 8 teams into two groups and four more teams will join them in the Super 12 group who will be joining them from Qualifier 1 round scheduled at Oman. Gambhir said that Group 1 which consist of defending Champions West Indies, Australia, South Africa and England is certainly a group of death and he will be eagerly looking to witness first set of matches starting from October 23rd 2021.

“Group 1 is the group of death, and that’s actually the real group. You’ve got four teams locked in and playing what, on day one of the T20 World Cup, that’s going to be a very exciting Saturday. West Indies have always been very unpredictable with the kind of firepower they’ve got – they can go on to win the third time as well.

“England has also got the firepower; they have probably got the most consistent white-ball team over the last couple of years – after winning the 50-over World Cup. Australia has literally gone off the radar, probably because a lot of main players are missing, but then again, I think they can be very dangerous on that particular day,” he said.