AFG vs NZ – Hopes of India are with Afghanistan, all the best to Nabi led team – Ashwin

Ravichandran Ashwin said that his teammates and the coaching staff are not discussing their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup and their focus is on winning the remaining games.

India won their first Super 12 stage match when they defeated Afghanistan by 66 runs but they are still on the verge of an early exit from the tournament.

The team led by Virat Kohli now need to win against Namibia and Scotland by a big margin and then hope for an Afghanistan victory over New Zealand. But Ashwin said the players are not thinking about the matches of other teams.

“I think there are hardly any discussions with regards to that (semi-finals),” Ashwin told reporters on the eve of their penultimate Group Two match against Scotland in Dubai.

“The discussion we need to have is how we’re going to go about the couple of games we have left, and everyone’s planning and wanting to go (out) on a real high for the last two games. That is stuff that’s not in our control. It’s fingers crossed,” Ashwin, who played his first T20I for India in over four years, added.

Afghanistan will have the support of India when they take on the Kiwis in Abu Dhabi on November 7.

“It’s a funny game, and Afghanistan have played good cricket. A lot of our hopes rest with them as well. All the very best to them,” said Ashwin, who bagged 2 wickets in India’s win last night.

“The news that I got selected in the World Cup was very heartening,” he said. “I had some special dreams getting into the World Cup, wanting to do special things for the team.

“Unfortunately, after the first two losses, I did feel a bit low about it and wasn’t a special feeling. But after yesterday’s win, we still do have our fingers crossed and hope things go right. Barring that, it was quite a special night. Everything I wanted to execute fell in place. It was a special night for me,” Ashwin said.