With one win and a loss under his belt, England's skipper Eoin Morgan is not taking Afghanistan lightly. During the pre-match Press conference at the Feroz Shah Kotla he looked calm and focused ahead of today's game. Jatin Verma reports from the ground
*On playing unpredictable Afghanistan…
Yes they have shown great character in their last two games and are a dangerous side. Tomorrow is a big game and we are certainly not taking Afghanistan for granted. I think focusing on anything else at the moment, given that there are two group games left, would be a little bit naive, no actually stupid. Tomorrow is very important and getting a win under our belt is the aim.
*What have you make of the Kotla pitchIJ
I expected a dryer pitch. There's a lot of grass on it. I don't know what it's going to do. We'll have to leave it as late as possible to select the side, and see what conditions are like. If it's another hot day like today, the team management will then take the decision. Rootie (Joe Root) can be a viable option for a third spinner but (left-arm orthodox) liam Dawson adds a lot more certainly with the ball than Joe Root. So certainly he could come into consideration if the grass comes off the pitch.
*On Afghanistan team evolving in cricketIJ
They have played a really exciting brand of cricket. Ten years ago we might not have known much about them, but now that is the nature of modern sport. We watched the early stages of the tournament and they played some really good cricket. We watched both games, against Sri lanka and South Africa in different circumstances, and it's been nice for us to see what they are about as a side. It's probably a little bit of unpredictability. I think in T20 games against any team unpredictability can be a strong mountain. Certainly we have lacked consistency in T20s in recent times and certainly there is a bit of unpredictability
*You suffered defeat against Holland in last edition. Any fear from today's matchIJ
Holland was a unique set of circumstances. We knew we were out of the tournament. Probably we came into that game with a completely wrong mindset. We were flying directly after that game and have already packed our bags to leave. So certainly in my mind I was already at home sitting on the couch going into that game. A lot of guys were in the same kind of mindset.
*What do you think of Mohammad ShahzadIJ
I think he (Shahzad) is a good batsman. I think it would be rude on my part to single out any player of their side. As a side they can be quite strong and very destructive.