T20 World Cup 2022: England VS Afghanistan -  Match predictions and tips

Rising Afghanistan against established England. You could not ask for a more exciting match, especially as it is the tournament opener for both teams. 

England won the T20Is they played against the Afghans by 116 and 15 runs in the 2012 and 2016 men's World Cup editions.

It will also be an important competition for Afghanistan's new head coach Jonathan Trott. He has worked as a consultant in the England camp for the past few years and has now stepped into the role vacated by Graham Thorpe's illness earlier this year.

England's players to watch

1. Jos Buttler- He smashed pair of impressive half-centuries in last week's 2-0 series win against Australia, including a comeback knock of 68 off 32 balls at the same Perth venue. 

2. Mark Wood- He looked impressive in the series against Australia and picked up a handful of crucial wickets for England.

Afghanistan's players to watch

1. Rashid Khan- He is the poster boy of Afghanistan. This competitor is not only world-class but arguably the best in his profession, as his career record of 118 T20I wickets in just 71 matches proves, at an incredible economy rate of 6.24.

2. Mohammad Nabi- It will be exciting to see the captain's knock. He is an attacking batting all-rounder.

Match Prediction

England is predicted to win today's match as England has recovered its form and Head to Head favours England.

Top Picks

Jos Buttler

Mark Wood

Rashid Khan

Mohammad Nabi

Pitch Report

Although pace bowlers can expect to get some support from the deck, the pitch in Perth could be flatter than usual later on. It is usually considered a batting-friendly surface, which is also expected to be the case in this match. On this track, the spinners have little support.

Team Squad

England- Jos Buttler(C & WK), Alex Hales, Dawid Malan, Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes, Mark Wood, and Chris Woakes.

Afghanistan- Mohammad Nabi (C), Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, and Rashid Khan.