Asia Cup 2025: Afghanistan's Gulbadin Naib Hails Team India as the Best Cricket Team in the World
Synopsis
Gulbadin Naib's comments follow Afghanistan's narrow eight-run Asia Cup loss to Bangladesh, which places them third in their group. Naib believes that despite India's strength, the team that plays better on the day ultimately wins.
Dubai [UAE]: Afghanistan all-rounder Gulbadin Naib heaped praise on Team India, calling them the best side in Asia as well as the world. Having shared the dressing room with Indian players in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Naib said he has always enjoyed learning from them. "India is the best team in Asia and in world, you get to learn a lot from these boys," Naib told ANI. "I have shared dressing room with them in the IPL and all the games we have played against them, we had great experience. We cannot say anybody is a favourite in T20 cricket, the team that plays well will win. Still, if you look at the paper, India is the best team," he added. Naib has been part of the Delhi Capitals in the cash rich league, where he has played two games.
‘Any Player Can Change the Game’
Speaking about the unpredictable nature of T20 cricket, the Afghan all-rounder stressed that any player can change the course of the game. "In T20 cricket, one player can change the course of the game, whether it's from the top order, middle order or the lower order, or it's a spinner, any player on their day can change the game. That game will go that way," Naib explained. Calling T20 a game of pure entertainment, he added, "I think T20 cricket is entertainment cricket, so everybody wants to do something for the country."
Earlier, in an excellent exhibition of spin and some fantastic death overs bowling by Taskin Ahmed and Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladesh scored a nail-biting eight-run win over Afghanistan in their Asia Cup clash at Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. With this win, Bangladesh retain their second spot in the group with two wins and a loss, total of four points. Sri Lanka is at the top with two wins in two matches. With a win and loss each, Afghanistan stays at third spot. If Afghanistan beat Sri Lanka in the final Group B clash, all three teams would have two wins each, with things coming down to net-run-rate.
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