India is undoubtedly the No. 1 team in Asia. However, a debate on the second spot has been going on in the last few years. Several cricket experts feel Afghanistan is the second-best team, giving them more ratings than Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The Afghans’ performance in the ICC tournament has made them formidable opponents.
Their best performance came in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they made it to the semi-finals. On the other hand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka were eliminated from the group stage. India won the global tournament.
Former batter Sanjay Manjrekar disagrees that Afghanistan is the second best. He highlighted their poor showing in the bilateral series.
“They are ahead of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh in ICC tournaments, but their track record is not good in bilateral series. They have lost a lot of matches against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Pakistan,” he said.
Varun Aaron reminded Manjrekar that Afghanistan doesn’t play at home. “Afghanistan don’t play matches at home, so they don’t get home advantage. Other teams are playing at home, which is helping them register victories,” he said.
Related