Photo Credit: Afghanistan Cricket Board
Afghanistan Cricket Board’s National Selection Committee today finalized a 19-member squad for the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh which will be played from July 5 to 11 in Chattogram.
The Uncapped Fast Bowling Duo of Saleem Safi and Wafadar Momand has been called up to the squad alongside the uncapped leggie Izharulhaq Naweed, who part of the recent one-off test match, has also been included in the squad.
Abdul Rahman, uncapped Fast Bowling all-rounder, who was part of Afghanistan’s recent ODI tour to Sri Lanka, has retained his place in the lineup, whereas Shahidullah Kamal and Zia Ur Rahman Akbar, who were part of the reserves during the Sri Lanka ODIs, have been promoted to the main squad. In addition, Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, who last featured in an ODI game back in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, has also received a call-up.
Afghanistan Squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Riaz Hassan, Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Shahidullah Kamal, Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Zia Ur Rahman Akbar, Izharulhaq Naveed, Abdul Rahman, Wafadar Momand, Saleem Safi and Sayed Ahmad Shirzad.
Afghanistan Cricket Board’s National Selection Committee declared that these players will be part of Afghanistan’s upcoming ODI assignments and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. The committee has also shortlisted backup reserves for the process, who will be utilized as per the team’s needs and requirements.
The Backup Reserves include the following players: Karim Janat, Zubaid Akbari, Qais Ahmad, Ihsanullah Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Naveen Ul Haq, Farid Ahmad Malik, Darwish Rasooli and Ishaq Rahimi.
The squad has been designed keeping in mind all the future scenarios that the ACB or the team might encounter in the upcoming few months.
Reflecting on the squad, Asadullah Khan, the national chief selector, said: “We have selected the best available players for our future programs, including the Bangladesh ODIs next month. We have strategic plans in place to prepare our team for the upcoming mega events in the next 3-4 months. Therefore, we have chosen a specific number of players alongside backup reserves who will be utilized during this period.”
Afghanistan National Team will depart to Bangladesh on July 1, where they will feature in three ODIs on the 5th, 8th & 11th of July in Chattogram.
