For the forthcoming Asia 2023 tournament, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has unveiled a potent 17-member lineup. The competition will start on August 30 and end on September 17 with the final set. There will be a total of 13 games, 9 of which will take place in Sri Lanka and 4 in Pakistan.
Afghanistan has been placed in Group B with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, while Group A consists of India, Pakistan, and Nepal. Afghanistan will clash with Bangladesh in their first match in Lahore on September 3 and then will face Sri Lanka at the same venue on September 5.
Afghanistan is coming off a 0-3 ODI series loss to Pakistan in Sri Lanka and will look to bounce back strongly.
The Afghanistan team’s captain will be Hashmatullah Shahidi, while the rest of the lineup will be largely the same as what they used in the recently finished ODI series against Pakistan. Few players from the previous series have been retained, while those who played in it have been dropped.
Azmatullah Omarzai, who was injured and replaced by Gulbadin Naib for the final match against Pakistan, has been left out while the latter has made the lineup. Along with Sharafuddin Ashraf, Karim Janat, who was absent from the team for the Pakistan series, has been added.
Rashid Khan to lead the Afghanistan bowling attack in Asia Cup 2023
Wafadar Momand, Fareed Ahmed Malik, and Shahidullah Kamal were all cut from the Afghanistan squad for the 2023 Asia Cup. The remaining players who participated in the Pakistan series have been drafted into the team. Notably, they suffered a 3-0 loss in the series.
The addition of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, and captain Hashmatullah Shahidi will improve the batting section. The team’s main spinners are Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Noor Ahmad. After having disappointing performances in the Pakistan series, Fazalhaq Farooqi has also been added to the team.
Here’s the Afghanistan Squad for the Asia Cup 2023: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Here’s AfghanAtalan’s lineup for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023. ?#AfghanAtalan | #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/kHHmR2GhxO
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 27, 2023