ICC World Cup 2023: Win over England a confidence booster for Afghanistan as they face New Zealand, says skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi

Afghanistan's win against England has given them the much-needed confidence to take on New Zealand. Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi looks forward to repeating the performance as his team takes on the Kiwis at Chennai on Wednesday.

Chennai: Afghanistan stunned defending champions England and scripted a memorable win on Sunday. Afghan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi on Tuesday said the upset victory will give his side a lot of confidence in their World Cup match against New Zealand.

Afghanistan take on New Zealand at the MA Chidambaram Stadium here on Wednesday. They trounced England by 69 runs in Delhi on Sunday to record their second win in World Cup history. The Kiwis, who are unbeaten in the tournament so far, will pose a tough challenge for the Afghans, but Shahidi asserted that his side would be up to the task once again.

"Definitely it was a big win for us. England are the defending champions. So, that will give a lot of confidence for our team," the Afghanistan captain said during the pre-match press conference. "And we had belief from the beginning of the tournament, but the first two games didn't go our way."

Afghanistan have roped in former Indian batter Ajay Jadeja as a mentor for this tournament. Shahidi said that having Indians with his side has really helped their batting flourish. "In the past also, we had a coach from India, and right now (Ajay) Jadeja. If you look at India, their (Indians) batting is very good. So, those talks about batting and the team, it helps us whenever an Indian coach is with us," he said.

Shahidi said he did not agree with the perception that cricket facilities in Afghanistan are not adequate. "We have good enough facilities to prepare ourselves. We have good domestic cricket also. If we want to prepare or arrange camps in our country, it's possible. In every city, in Jalalabad, Kabul, Kandahar, we have facilities, we have stadiums, we have academies. It's not like India, but still, you can prepare yourself," he added.

"India was our home for two or three years. So, we are used to it. On this ground (in Chennai), we had a preparation camp for the 2019 World Cup. We spent 40 days here. All these things give us a lot of advantage," he concluded.