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Lucknow: Afghanistan will bank heavily on pacer Naveen-ul-Haq in the match against the Netherlands at the Ekana stadium on Friday, as he has already played the Indian Premier League (IPL) here as a member of the Lucknow SuperGiants (LSG) squad.
Naveen-ul-Haq during the practice session
During IPL matches, Ekana’s pitches were low and slow due to which the matches remained low scoring. As the pitches have been relaid and have a bit of bounce and pace now, Naveen’s seam bowling can be useful.
The ongoing World Cup has not been very successful for Naveen as he has played six matches and has taken as many wickets.His best was the two-wicket haul against Pakistan.
Naveen had made his IPL debut in Lucknow, played eight matches and took 11 wickets.
Naveen practised in the nets for about half an hour. He was also seen passing useful tips to fellow pace bowlers.
Afghanistan team management doesn’t want to take any risk, therefore, they will keep faith in pacers and spinners.