Hashmaullah Shahidi urges Afghanistan to take ownership and crush India

Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said his team cannot afford to lose focus, especially against top opposition. In the opening match of the ODI series against India on 13 June, Afghanistan suffered a seven-wicket defeat in a rain-limited 25 over 25 match in Dharamsala.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz provided a a strong start with a scintillating century off 48 balls. However, after his dismissal, Afghanistan lost momentum and were bowled out for 194, losing their last seven wickets for just 68 runs.

While praising Gurbaz for his innings, Shahidi stressed that the senior players, including himself, Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai, need to take more responsibility and contribute more consistently.

“When you play quality teams like India, they don’t give you many chances. Even a small mistake can cost you because they take advantage of it. In the last match, the way Gurbaz played was one of the best innings I have ever seen. But after he got out, I lost the wicket and then Nabi and Azmat didn’t take responsibility.

“When you are in the game against teams like India, you have to take advantage and not let them back into the contest,” Shahidi told a press conference ahead of the second ODI on Wednesday.

“THEY ARE NOT PLAYING ENOUGH AFGHANISTAN DISABLED ODIS”

Shahidi also said that the lack of ODI cricket in Afghanistan over the last couple of years has affected the team’s ability to perform consistently. Since January 2025, the Afghans have played only seven ODIs, winning four, losing two, with one match ending in a draw.

“At the same time, we haven’t played much ODI cricket. We have only played eight or nine ODIs in the last two years, which is very few. Maybe that has affected us as well. But we have more series to come, including against Ireland. The more we play, the more we learn and we will continue to improve with each match,” Shahidi added.

Afghanistan have had a tough tour of India so far. They started with a heavy defeat in the one-off Test, where India secured victory by an innings and 300 runs. After losing the opening ODI, Shahidi’s men will be eager to return to Lucknow and keep the streak alive.

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Issued by:

sabyasachi chowdhury

Published on:

16 Jun 2026 21:58 IST