Dale Steyn predicts Afghanistan can win an ICC tournament: Details
What's the story
Former South African cricketer, Dale Steyn, believes Afghanistan could win an ICC tournament in the next 10 years.
He stressed the importance of Afghan players developing patience in their individual and team performances.
Steyn's advice comes after Afghanistan's recent show at the Champions Trophy 2025 in Lahore, where they beat England but are on the brink of elimination from knockouts.
Here's more.
Patience is key
Steyn's advice for Afghan cricketers
Steyn drew parallels between the current impatience of Afghan players and the absence of patience in today's fast-paced world.
"I think we live in a time now where people are not patient enough. We can hardly watch two seconds on an Instagram story and it just feels like the Afghanistan players are similar when they're playing their cricket," he said, as per ESPNcricinfo.
He added this impatience could be holding them back in international tournaments.
Game strategy
Steyn's observations on Afghan players' approach
Steyn noticed that Afghan players tend to hurry their game, attempting to force things to happen.
He said, "This ball must be a wicket, there's no patience to building up and taking a wicket. And sometimes, the batters are the same."
He added that although many of them play T20 cricket around the world which helps them learn and earn, spending time in four-day games could also help.
Future prospects
Steyn's confidence in Afghanistan's potential
Despite these challenges, Steyn was confident that Afghanistan could win ICC tournaments.
He said, "But patience is one of the biggest things that Afghanistan players need to learn, and once they get that down, honestly, in the next decade, they could win ICC tournaments for sure."
His comments highlight his belief in the team's ability to improve and succeed on the global stage.
Jaffer
Afghanistan are on the rise, says Jaffer
Former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer feels Afghanistan are on the rise and one needs to applaud them.
"Afghanistan are on the rise," Jaffer said "And you've got to applaud them because they've played semi-finals [at the 2024 T20 World Cup], they've beaten good teams and, when they beat anybody it's not an upset anymore. So, you can expect Afghanistan to put on a show."