Will go for it even if I have a 10% chance: Rashid

The biggest concern for Afghanistan ahead of today’s T20I tri-series final against Bangladesh is the availability of talismanic skipper Rashid Khan after the leg-spinner suffered a hamstring injury during their last league game against the same opponents on Saturday.

The Afghanistan physio said yesterday that he was still fifty -fifty for the crucial encounter at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

The team management will take the final call on the 21-year-old before the game today, but a determined Rashid was eager to take part in the all-important final.

“If I have 10 per cent chance of playing, I will go for it because I love my country and my country wants to win the game; that is the most important thing to me, [more] than myself,” Rashid said during a press conference in Mirpur yesterday.

Although Afghanistan lost two consecutive games during the Chattogram leg, a confident Rashid said that his side had enough talent to beat any team in the world on their day.

 “I don’t think [there is a loss in morale]... not at all. We have to focus on the next game tomorrow [Tuesday] since the group stage is gone. We need to do the basics right, which we have done positively in the first two games. The most important thing is we are in the final. The previous losses or wins are not an issue.

“I think the way we have been playing for the last three or four years, especially in T20Is, if we play our best cricket, we can beat any team in the world. I think we have the talent and the team. We just have to keep calm and perform,” Rashid said.

There was talk of the home side possibly opting for a pace-friendly surface for the final to offset Afghanistan’s strength in spin, but Rashid said that they were ready to adjust to whatever pitch they were faced with and apply themselves to the task.