Imad Wasim praises "world class" Afghanistan spinners after leading Pakistan to victory in Leeds

The allrounder scored an unbeaten 49 to guide his side home to a three-wicket win against Gulbadin Naib's men at Headingley

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Pakistan allrounder Imad Wasim praised the "world class" spinners at Afghanistan's disposal after leading his side home to a three-wicket win against their Asian counterparts at Headingley.

The 30-year-old hit an unbeaten 49 and took two wickets to deliver his most successful performance of the tournament so far which enabled Pakistan to leapfrog England into the semi-final positions.

Wasim struggled early on to pick Rashid Khan, and he stated that his side were unwilling to yield anything to the legspinner but believes their spinners' relentless nature is the reason why they have made things difficult for opposition sides recently.

"Their spinners, they're world class.

^{Wasim reserved special praise for Rashid Khan}

"If they score consistently over 250 or 260 on any track they can cause trouble to any team. So credit goes to Afghanistan.

"Rashid Khan was bowling brilliantly. If you take a chance, you might give them a wicket. So, we were like, just don't give wicket to Rashid Khan and then the rest we would see how it goes.

"I think last five years they rose up. And look at that, they're giving a tough time to every team. They gave India a tough time.

"So Afghanistan, I think, is a force to reckon with in a couple of years' time."

Wasim, who said he was unaware of any crowd trouble at the end of the game, also defended the top-order batsmen stating that they had come to their rescue on numerous occasions before. Imam ul-Haq and Babar Azam were particularly guilty of poor shot selection, but the left-arm spinner believes they should not be relied upon every game.

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"I think there wasn't a good shots at that stage. But, look, these guys win those games many times.

"So it had to be someone else. So if you can see, they won the last game. Now, there are a couple of guys who chipped in and win this one. So it's a great team unity. I think it happens in cricket.

"I love my country too much. I know every sportsman, they do. But I just love my country.

"I just want to give 100 percent every time. The result, it doesn't matter to me because if I give 100 percent and the rest of the lot, we're good enough to beat any side on a given day. It was a great innings."

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