England batsman Eoin Morgan has insisted that he will not underestimate the threat posed by Afghanistan when the two sides meet in the World Twenty20 on Thursday.
The two nations have faced off just twice in international cricket before, but the improving Afghanistan arrived in India sitting ninth in the ICC T20 rankings.
They have impressed at times at the tournament itself too, and Morgan believes that it would be "stupid" to focus on anything other than winning the match.
"Our priority is on winning, this is a big game and we are certainly not taking Afghanistan for granted. First and foremost we need to go into that game with the right mindset. Focusing on anything else at the moment, given that there are two group games left, would be a little bit naive - actually stupid," he told reporters.
"They're a dangerous side and play a really exciting brand of cricket. Ten years ago we might not have known much about them, but now that is the nature of modern sport. We know a lot about them now and that is quite comforting, the fact that there's no stone that's left unturned.
"We watched the early stages of the tournament and they played some really good cricket and we watched the games against Sri Lanka and South Africa in different circumstances. Winning one of these games will be their ultimate objective. If you keep missing, it's fine, but the opportunity along the way will come. If you have your day, you might win a game. That's certainly was the attitude when I was a part of Ireland."
England have won one and lost one of their World T20 group games so far.
Barney Corkhill
