T20 World Cup 2022, England vs Afghanistan: Dream11 Prediction, Fantasy Tips, Captain and Vice Captain

Perth, Oct 21: World number two ranked England will take on a vitriolic Afghanistan side in their Super 12 opener in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 here at Perth Stadium in the second match on Saturday (October 22).

The opening match of the day will be played between Australia and New Zealand at the iconic Sydney Cricket Ground.

The Jos Buttler-led English side is ranked second in the world while Mohammad Nabi's Afghanistan are ranked tenth. But rankings and head-to-heads get a back seat in T20s where any team can stun even the best in the world on its day.

If England have some of the biggest T20 specialists in their ranks, Afghans are popular the world over for their T20 freelancers, who are proving their mettle by offering their services in every major T20 league.

Just ahead of their tournament opener, the English side suffered a massive jolt when their in-form pacer Reece Topley rolled his ankle to be ruled out of the marquee event. The team has included left-arm seamer Tymal Mills in Topley's stead and it will be interesting to see if the latter will be able to fill that void.

England's batting arsenal is one of the most potent going into the tournament and every team needs to vary their swashbucklers such as Buttler, Harry Brook, Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, and Liam Livingstone. In Moeen Ali and Stokes, the English have proven match-winning all-rounders. Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, and Chris Jordan are good all-rounders on the side.

Their bowling department also looks rounded as they have quality pacers like David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood and Mills. Rashid Khan will be their key spinner and would fancy bowling on big Australian grounds.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, have star spinners in Rashid Khan and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman. Their fast bowling department has been on the rise since 2021 and their performance in the Asia Cup 2022 was impressive. However, they would be hoping to do well for the team's overall performance in the continental event was below average.

Here are Dream11 Tips for the match between England and Afghanistan:

Squads:

Afghanistan: Mohammad Nabi (captain), Najibullah Zadran (vice-captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujib ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi, Usman Ghani.

England: Jos Buttler (captain/wicketkeeper), Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood, Tymal Mills.

Pitch Conditions at Perth: The Perth Stadium pitch conventionally favours fast bowling and hence the average total at this venue is under 160.

Average Score: 155

Dream11 Tips:

Team 1:

Batters: Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Harry Brook, Ibrahim Zadran, Liam Livingstone

Bowlers: Mark Wood, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rashid Khan

All-rounder: Ben Stokes

Wicketkeepers: Phil Salt

Captain: Ben Stokes

Vice-Captain: Phil Salt

Team 2:

Batters: Harry Brook, Alex Hales, Hazratullah Zazai