Mystic Morgan: Former England captain makes a big prediction on opening day Super 12 clash
Ahead of England's opening fixture of the 2022 ICC Men's T20 World Cup, ICC Digital Insider Bonnie Raynor caught up with former England skipper Eoin Morgan to capture his thoughts on the eve of their clash against Afghanistan.
Morgan, a veteran of six T20 World Cup campaigns, provided insight into where he believes the game will be won or lost in Perth.
"Against England, I think he [Rashid Khan] could be the winning or the losing of the game."
England v Afghanistan Preview | Match 14 | ICC Men's T20WC 2022
Going into further detail, Morgan explained that he feels that the game will hinge upon the battle between Buttler and Rashid, with the outcome of this contest likely to steer the result in this fixture.
"England's strongest player is their captain, Jos Buttler, and he has a terrible record against Rashid Khan. If he turns over Jos [Buttler] early in the game, I think it's going to cause a big headache for England."
The Big Time Preview: Episode 8 | England v Afghanistan | T20WC 2022
To make matters worse for England fans, their former skipper reinforced his previous statements when providing answers to a few quickfire questions, confirming that he thought Afghanistan would beat England in Perth and that Buttler would be dismissed by Rashid.
England will hope their former teammate is simply playing devil's advocate, and they can kick off their T20 World Cup title challenge with victory. Afghanistan, meanwhile, will need no encouragement as they seek an early upset to show the rest of the tournament they mean business this time out.