*Official* Asia Cup 2018 in UAE

[Prince EWS]

Stanikzai's name change is going to be awkward when the selectors admit to themselves they have a dozen or so better batsmen than him and drop him from the side in the next year or two.

 

[cnerd123]

Dude I was wondering who this Afghan guy was and why he suddenly was captain

All makes sense now.

Shakib is almost bored of taking wickets at the moment lol. This is too easy for him it seems.

 

[vcs]

Did not know Stanikzai had changed his surname to Afghan. Could have probably been a tad more imaginative in choosing one.

Though Asghar Afghan does sound cool. One for the Badass Cricketer Names thread.

 

[Prince EWS]

Did not know Stanikzai had changed his surname to Afghan. Could have probably been a tad more imaginative in choosing one.

Haha apparently he changed it just out of national/team pride, as opposed to having decided to change it for a more necessary reason and just being unimaginative.

 

[weldone]

Stanikzai's name change is going to be awkward when the selectors admit to themselves they have a dozen or so better batsmen than him and drop him from the side in the next year or two.

It took me 30 minutes to incorporate his name change in my rating system.

On the selection front, I think he should be in the team as a captain till WC. We've seen in the first few games in WC qualifiers how important his captaincy is.

 

[andmark]

How's the pitch playing? Afghanistan are slight favourites with at least one bookmakers.

 

[Prince EWS]

It took me 30 minutes to incorporate his name change in my rating system.

I remember this sort of pain. I now tend to deal with cricinfo player IDs (so Asghar would be 320652 regardless of what he called himself, for example) instead so such things don't cause me drama down the line.

On the selection front, I think he should be in the team as a captain till WC. We've seen in the first few games in WC qualifiers how important his captaincy is.

Possibly only true if they insist on making Rashid captain when he's not there though. Nabi was fine as captain throughout his tenure.

But yeah it's probably too late to make a change before the WC now, considering what happened in that tournament.

 

[smash84]

I think Afghanistan have got to a competitive total

 

[vcs]

This should be a close match.

Afghanistan spinners are so good.. making runs, taking wickets, everything.

 

[Prince EWS]

Yeah this partnership has been huge in the context of the game. Naib showing why he gets picked ahead of better specialist quicks.

 

[vcs]

Rashid WAG

This guy will go down as a great of the game in ODIs.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

This partnership took the game away from us. We are not chasing this.

Not sure why Mashrafe bowled at death. He stopped bowling at death and for no reason bowled today

 

[Prince EWS]

Rashid WAG

This guy will go down as a great of the game in ODIs.

I just hope he gets to play enough against the top few sides to prove himself. It'd be a shame if debates raged on CricketWeb in the year 2075 over him because he only played two games against Australia or something.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

I just hope he gets to play enough against the top few sides to prove himself. It'd be a shame if debates raged on CricketWeb in the year 2075 over him because he only played two games against Australia or something.

Dont worry Burgey will be here to defend him

 

[Prince EWS]

This partnership took the game away from us. We are not chasing this.

Not sure why Mashrafe bowled at death. He stopped bowling at death and for no reason bowled today

The whole innings seemed pretty experimental from Bangladesh; there was no reason to bowl Mominul and Mahmudullah when Afghanistan were on the ropes either. When combined with the fact that Mashrafe had a sook about the corrupt scheduling making this game meaningless (even though he was 100% right in his sook), it feels like he was never taking this game particularly seriously (which is why I bet on Afghanistan ).

 

[Tec15]

Imagine letting Afghanistan get to this score after having them at 160/7 in 41 overs. Brilliant captaincy and bowling changes from Masrafe! I especially love how he took of Mehedy after he had 8-0-21-0 and never bowled him again, while bowling his own powderpuff **** again and again! Looks like a repeat of the 2014 Asia Cup match to me. Still addicted to losing to the Afghans.

Can't wait to watch Liton (0 of 12) and Mominul (27 of 55) tear up the chase, while the rest decide to expertly handle Mujeeb and Rashid by playing dot after dot before the customary slog and out! They're about to make Sri Lanka look competent.

 

[Tec15]

Not sure why Mashrafe bowled at death. He stopped bowling at death and for no reason bowled today

I'll help you out here. He did it because he is both a totally inept and selfish captain. It just gets exposed some days more than others.

 

[Howe_zat]

Yeah this partnership has been huge in the context of the game. Naib showing why he gets picked ahead of better specialist quicks.

As if being Gulbadin Naib on its own isn't enough

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

I'll help you out here. I did it because I'm both a totally inept and selfish person. It just gets exposed some days more than others.

ok

 

[Prince EWS]

As if being Gulbadin Naib on its own isn't enough

Haha, should be captain so they can drop Asghar.