T20 World Cup 2021: Sunil Gavaskar warns India about "exceptionally dangerous" Afghanistan

Sunil Gavaskar dropped a caveat for Team India ahead of their T20 World Cup 2021 clash against an "exceptionally dangerous" Afghanistan on Thursday.

The former captain, speaking in an interview with Sports Today, noted that while Afghanistan's batters are risk-takers who play freely, their mystery spinners can also expose the vulnerabilities of Indian batters. Sunil Gavaskar also called Mohammad Nabi's team a "banana peel" opponent who should not be taken lightly.

Sunil Gavaskar said:

"Yes, they are exceptionally dangerous... because they are a team that's unafraid to play their shots in the 20-over game, they just go out and swing their bats quite happily. They have got mystery spinners and Indian batters in recent times have shown a certain vulnerability against top-quality spin, particularly the back-of-the-hand spin. I think they are, like the commonly used word, a 'banana peel' opponent because you tend to not take them too seriously and you can, you know, slip and fall down playing against them."

India are coming into the match on the back of two humbling defeats at the hands of Pakistan and New Zealand. Their hopes of staying alive in the tournament will hinge on this game's result.

Afghanistan, on the flip side, have played excellent cricket so far. They defeated Scotland and Namibia and challenged Pakistan to the hilt before losing out in the end. Their goal will inarguably be to hit the Indians at arguably their lowest point and squeeze out a famous win.

View the T20 World Cup 2021 time table here.

Afghanistan's spinners will pose a bigger challenge than Pakistan and New Zealand's: Sunil Gavaskar

Spinners have played a major role in India's two defeats, with both Pakistan and New Zealand utilizing them to restrict the run flow in the middle overs.

Sunil Gavaskar said that Afghanistan's tweakers, especially Rashid Khan, will pose an even bigger challenge to those two teams. He said the Indian batters will have to take a more proactive approach against them by using their feet to counter the turn and force Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman off their lines and lengths.

Sunil Gavaskar said:

"You've got to say that the Afghanistan spinners, Rashid Khan, in particular, are going to be a bigger challenge than, say, an Ish Sodhi or Imad Wasim. So India really needs to step up, need to be aggressive, [the batters] need to come down the pitch a bit more to counter the turn. There won't be much turn here in Abu Dhabi... so I think you need to try and throw the bowler off by trying to step down the pitch by making him change his length, the line."

Sunil Gavaskar concluded by saying:

Do something different to both these bowlers because if you don't do that then they are going to bowl their four overs for 25-30 runs and that's going to be tremendous. Because if you have bowled 8 overs for 55-60 runs, you have done a fabulous job for your team."

The all-important match between the two neighbors will kick off at 7:30 PM IST in Abu Dhabi.