Afghanistan Cricket Board (AFG), on Tuesday, announced their 17-member squad for the upcoming T20I series against Pakistan, starting March 25 in the United Arab Emirates.
Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has been recalled to the T20I outfit, having last played a game in the T20 World Cup 2022 against Australia at Adelaide in November. After this game, Nabi had stepped down as captain, citing his disappointment at the team’s preparation for the global event and disagreements with the selectors.
Uncapped Sediqullah Atal has been picked in the outfit, while Rahmat Shah and Hazratullah Zazai have been left out. Similarly, Nijat Masood and Zahir Khan have been included in the reserves.
Notably, Pakistan have already named their squad for this series, resting the likes of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf and Fakhar Zaman to manage their workload. In place of Babar, all-rounder Shadab Khan will be leading Pakistan.
“Our team has been working hard in [the] training camp, and selectors have selected the best available players for the series. I am confident that our team will perform at their best and make our nation proud. We wish our team the best of luck for the series and hope to see them emerge victorious,” said ACB CEO Naseeb Khan, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
Afghanistan squad for Pakistan T20Is:
Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Usman Ghani, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq
Reserves: Nangyal Kharoti, Zahir Khan and Nijat Masood
