Ahmedabad, February 10 Skipper Rashid Khan said his familiarity with South African players through his SA20 stint will help him share useful information about the opposition with his young Afghan teammates ahead of their T20 World Cup match here.
Rashid has been a constant presence in the SA20 over its four editions, and the premier spinner is coming to the ICC showpiece after spending a month in South Africa with MI Cape Town.
"I think it helps you to share that information with the team. Like, personally I've been playing for a long time, and I've played with everyone (the South African players) for a long time," Rashid said on the eve of the match against the Proteas.
"I think it helps the youngsters who haven't played, and it gives them an idea of what's going to happen, what their mindset should be, and I think that really helps.
“I spent a month there, and I think that information you bring to the national team really helps the youngsters,” he added.
Rashid also opined that both Afghan and South African players have an equal advantage in the match because of their familiarity with Indian conditions through the IPL.
"It definitely helps, but even if you have a good idea, you still don't know how the wicket will behave. If you play in the IPL, it's different, but when you play in the ICC event, it's different.
“There's pressure when you play for your country. So, it's a different feeling. But to be honest, no one around the world will tell you how the wicket will behave before the game. I think they know the conditions here as well. So, it's not just like me playing a lot and it's going to be favouring us, no, I think it's equal for everyone,” he noted.
The 27-year-old also hoped for his pace bowlers to come up with a better effort against South Africa, after they failed to sustain the pressure created by spinner Mujeeb Rahman in the match against New Zealand at Chennai.
The Kiwis had won that match by five wickets.
"Well, I think the line we bowled, I think the length we bowled was something which gave them the kind of free shots to play on, like especially in the power play, the way Mujeeb bowled into the wickets and then the fast bowler went for some runs.
“So I feel like at that time we could have kept it a little bit tighter, but overall I feel we missed our line and length as well," he added.
