CWC 2023: England vs Afghanistan match preview

England head into the encounter coming on the back of a resounding victory against Bangladesh. The Delhi surface has been flat as a highway and has already seen two high-scoring games, the kind that will suit England’s approach.

Ben Stokes is looking good in training according to Joe Root and might slot back in the XI if he is 100 per cent fit in place of Harry Brook. They might look to rotate their fast bowlers as well, giving Mark Wood and Chris Woakes a rest and bringing in Gus Atkinson and David Willey in their places respectively.

Afghanistan have suffered two one-sided defeats in their first two games of the World Cup. They need to regroup and regroup quickly. Their batting showed promise against India with Azmatullah Omarzai and Hashmatullah Shahidi stepping up in the middle order. They would want more of the same, albeit with a higher intensity. Their spin trio has been largely toothless so far and needs to come to the party soon as well if Afghanistan are to keep themselves alive in the competition.

ENG vs AFG fantasy tips

[caption id=”attachment_586972″ align=”alignnone” width=”1200″] Ben Stokes has shown good signs and might be back in the XI for England[/caption]

# The two World Cup games that have been played here have been high-scoring encounters. With the surface not expected to be much different, you can afford to pack your fantasy team with explosive batters, particularly those in the top order.

# Ben Stokes has a terrible record against Rashid Khan. Even if Stokes plays, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to not pick him, given he won’t be contributing with the ball.

# If Gus Atkinson plays in place of Mark Wood, picking him would be a good idea. His raw pace has the potential to rattle the Afghan batting, particularly their middle order. Same goes for Wood if he plays.

# Joe Root has scored two half-centuries from two games at the World Cup so far. He is in superb form and given the flat nature of the Delhi surface, he is a must-have in your team.

England vs Afghanistan: Predicted 11

England: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (c) (wk), Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, David Willey, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Gus Atkinson.

Afghanistan: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

ENG vs AFG: Dream11 team

Wicketkeepers: Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow, Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Batters: Joe Root, Dawid Malan, Ibrahim Zadran

All-rounders: Sam Curran, Azmatullah Omarzai

Bowlers: Adil Rashid, Rashid Khan, Gus Atkinson

Captaincy options: Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Jos Buttler

Potential swaps: Reece Topley for Gus Atkinson, Liam Livingstone for Sam Curran, Mohammad Nabi for Adil Rashid