CWC 2023: England’s Adil Rashid “not too concerned” by Afghanistan setback

The reigning champions will face South Africa on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai

Mumbai: Adil Rashid said that England is “not too concerned” about their shocking defeat to Afghanistan and added that the team is confident that they can revive their faltering ICC World Cup 2023 campaign.

The reigning champions will face South Africa on Saturday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

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Following the 69-run setback to Afghanistan in Delhi, England not only needs to beat South Africa on Saturday but also to put on a show that can re-energize a devastated squad.

The defending world champions were crushed by New Zealand on the opening night in Ahmedabad before suffering a dramatic upset in Delhi on Sunday.

The fragile nature of their position will undoubtedly cause concern behind the scenes, but Rashid despite losing three of their nine group games, tried his best to maintain a level head in public.

“It’s part of cricket: you win some, you lose some and you can’t win every game,” Rashid was quoted as saying by Skysports.

“It’s part and parcel of the game. We’re not too concerned, it’s just a game that we’ve lost. We know we’ve got a tough competition coming up, but I’m confident we can play really well as a unit moving forward,” the England spinner said.

Rashid was one of just a few England players to perform well in the match against Afghanistan, taking 3-42, although he admitted the team’s collective efforts were inadequate.

The 35-year-old even expressed concern that the offensive, proactive mentality that once distinguished his team as trailblazers was no longer present.

“Hopefully we can put in some good performances and kickstart the competition. We know we’ve still got six games, hopefully, we can win and get some good momentum going forward. I’m quite confident in the squad, in the team. I’m sure we’ll bounce back strong,” he added.

“We’re still confident; we’re still backing our players; we still have that positive frame of mind,” Rashid added. But unless they see signs of a recovery in Mumbai this weekend, England’s supporters are unlikely to share those sentiments.