Ahead of the historic test match between India and Afghanistan which is slated to happen on June 14, 2018, in Bengaluru.  Both India and Afghanistan are preparing for the one-off test match. Prior to the contest,  Afghanistan captain Asghar Stanikzai started the war of words and went on to claim that they have better spinners than India.

"The whole world knows that (we have good spinners like) Rashid Khan, Mujeeb, Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Zahir Khan," Stanikzai was quoted as saying by Espn. "In Afghanistan, the brilliant thing is that a lot of the young talent that is coming through is spinners because they all follow Rashid, they follow Nabi, so because of that our spin department is very strong from below. In my opinion, we have good spinners, better spinners than India," he further added.

Phil Simmons, the coach of Afghanistan said, "I think Rashid is at a different level now if he keeps improving, but we haven't seen him that much in Test cricket. Well, we haven't seen him at all in Test cricket, but in four-day cricket, we haven't seen him that much. So it's a new frontier for him. I'm sure he will conquer it, but whether he will conquer it in the first game, we'll have to see."

Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane said that he was privileged to be a part of the historic test match against Afghanistan.  “It's a privilege to be playing in Afghanistan's first Test match. It's a historic moment for them and an opportunity for us to be part of the occasion," Rahane was quoted as saying in an ICC release. “They have a fine team and some talented players, who have proved themselves in shorter formats. I am sure they are looking forward to do the same in Test cricket. On behalf of the Indian team, I wish them all the best, " said Rahane further. Virat Kohli will be missing out on the series.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 12, 2018 10:57 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).