Afghanistan Cricket Board on Wednesday declared a 17-member team for the upcoming Asia Cup, starting Aug 27 in the UAE.
Mohammad Nabi will serve as the team’s captain, with Najibullah Zadran functioning as his deputy. While the spin magician Rashid Khan is also there in the squad.
Six countries will compete in the event; India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh have already secured their spots, while Nepal, the UAE, Hong Kong, and Oman will compete in qualifiers starting on August 20 for the final berth.
Afghanistan is currently in Ireland for a 5-match T20I series against Ireland. After playing the series decider on Wednesday against Ireland, the team will go to the UAE for the Asia Cup.
Chief selector Noor Malikzai: “The Asia Cup is an important event for us and, as such, we have picked our best available players for the event. Samiullah Shinwari has been added to the side for the Asia Cup. He is in very good form and can give further impetus to the batting department, which already boasts Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi. Shinwari has not played any international match since March 2020, but he has done well in the recently held Shpageeza Cricket League 2022 and demonstrated that he is a good option to strengthen our middle order.”
Nijat Masoud, Qais Ahmad, and Sharafuddin Ashraf are the three stand by players.
The Asia Cup 2022 was originally scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka but due to some political and financial crisis in the country, the marquee event shifted to UAE. However, Sri Lanka will continue to be the host for the event to be played between August 27 and September 11 in UAE.
This time the Asia Cup will be played in a 20-over format, considering the preparation for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.
Afghanistan will start their Asia Cup campaign on the first day itself when they lock horns with Sri Lanka in the series opener On August 27.
Afghanistan Squad for Asia Cup 2022:
Mohammad Nabi (C), Najibullah Zadran (VC), Afsar Zazai (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Mujib ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Rashid Khan and Samiullah Shinwari.
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