BAN vs AFG 2019: Mohammad Nabi Happy to End His Test Career on a Positive Note

Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi shared that he was happy to have been a part of the generation that played the longer format of the game. He stated that it was his dream to play Test cricket. He even asked the youngsters to be ready for the Tests. Nabi announced his retirement from Test cricket after they beat Bangladesh at Chittagong on September 9th.

“I had the dream to play Test cricket for Afghanistan. We have worked really hard for that in a short time. Not last 13 to 14 years, we have achieved that target seven to eight years. We struggled a lot, we had to prepare mentally and combine a team combination,” Mohammad Nabi told reporters at the post-match press conference.

“My plan is that the youngsters should be prepared for the next Tests as they are the future for us. That’s why I have decided to leave Test matches and focus on One-Day internationals and T20s,” he said.

Nabi further shared that he thinks that their domestic structure is pretty decent. According to him, that was why they were able to beat Bangladesh. He further shared that they got used to with the temperature as they had a 10-day preparation camp in Abu Dhabi.

“It’s a historic win because in this format, we are new. We have played only three games against India, Ireland and Bangladesh and we won two games. It means we are good in this format and it means that our domestic structure is strong,” he told.

However, he was of the opinion that Rashid Khan has the ability to lead the team to a bright future.

“It’s all about the team combination. Before the World Cup, the board members changed the old captain and the combination didn’t work in the World Cup. Here with Rashid Khan as captain, he has the ability to lead the team. Besides, me and Asghar (Afghan) support him a lot,” he expressed.

He even shared the reasons behind their poor show in the World Cup.

“Before the World Cup we changed the old captain and that was the main thing why we couldn’t play well as a team. That captain never captained in his life. That’s why we didn’t do that well in the World Cup, and even though we had good games against India, Pakistan and West Indies, we lost those matches. But now it’s totally changed. We have given chances to our young players,” he said.