Afghanistan are all set to take on India in their maiden Test. The two teams will square off on June 14 at Bengaluru. Hosts India will be without captain Virat Kohli. The star batsman has opted to play for county side Surrey to prepare for India’s tour of England, which starts from July 03 onwards. Meanwhile, Afghanistan skipper Asghar Stanikzai has said that Kohli’s absence won’t make any difference as they will be up against the team, not an individual.

“All Indian players are good and everyone is (a similar standard to) Virat Kohli. I believe we are playing with Team India and not with Virat Kohli,” Stanikzai was quoted as saying by news gathering agency AFP.

Stanikzai has further said that the conditions in India will favour Afghanistan as well. “Indian conditions are good for spin and we are lucky to have good spinners. Our batsmen are in good form. In the last three or four years, our team combination is good. We will try and play good and positive cricket,” he added.

Meanwhile, Stanikzai made an interesting statement regarding country’s two most prominent spinners- Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Zadran. “Rashid and Mujeeb have been performing really well and it is a proud moment for us. But we also have better spinners in Afghanistan. We have a lot of good spinners in Afghanistan, like Qais Ahmad and other spinners who will do better than Rashid,” the Afghan captain said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 15, 2018 03:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).