5 reasons why Afghanistan could be a threat to India

Unorthodox players

Shahzad's almighty bat swing more than makes up for his lack of textbook skills

Where were you when Virender Sehwag flayed everything fractionally outside off-stump to the point boundary and the five-prong pace attack of South Africa had no clue at Bloemfontein in 2001? Or when Ajantha Mendis with his troupe of carom balls and finger flicked cherries claimed 26 wickets in his debut Test series?

My point being, radical skills in cricket often catch the opposition surprised because it is not easy to counter an unconventional brand of cricket skill once it is on song, especially mid-way through an all-important test match. Afghanistan have an arsenal of these unorthodox batsmen with Mohammad Shahzad the most potent of them. He does not have a lot of faith in horizontal movements on the pitch, instead he relies on approaching the pitch of the delivery and hitting it right off the strip, this "technique" can work wonders against the spin trio of India, who were also found wanting against the idiosyncrasies of Steve Smith last year.