New Delhi: Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Thursday named a 18-member squad to take on South Africa in the upcoming ODI series in the United Arab Emirates, scheduled from September 18 to 22. The national selection committee of ACB finalised the squad for the three-match ODI series.
After opting out of the red-ball format for the Afghanistan’s national side to manage his back injury, star player Rashid Khan has made to the ODI squad. The 25-year-old leg spinner is not part of Afghanistan’s squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida. He also missed out Afghanistan’s three ODI matches against Ireland in March.
Nevertheless, Rashid will be a key member in the Hashmatullah Shahidi-led squad with frontline spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman yet to recover from a right phalanx sprain.
Top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran will also miss out after he was ruled out from the series due to an ankle sprain in his left leg. Amo Sharks opener Abdul Malik, who scored 273 runs in nine innings in the Shpageeza Cricket League last month, has been named as the replacement for Ibrahim.
Darwish Rasooli gets maiden ODI call-up for Afghanistan
Another top-order batter Darwish Rasooli earned his maiden ODI call-up after impressive show in the domestic List A Cup and the SCL9. The 24-year-old has played seven T20 Internationals for Afghanistan with his last appearance coming in January this year against UAE in Sharjah.
The rest of the squad will remain the same that featured in Afghanistan’s 2-0 series win against Ireland in March.
“Hosting South Africa for the first time in our cricketing history is a huge milestone for Afghanistan Cricket. They are a top-quality side, and playing against them in an ODI series is something we are all excited about,” ACB CEO Naseeb Khan was quoted as saying in a ACB media release.
“Our team has shown great performances in ICC events over the past two-three years, and we are focused on making our team equally competitive in bilateral cricket,” Naseeb added.
Afghanistan ODI squad for SA series: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Thursday named a 18-member squad to take on South Africa in the upcoming ODI series in the United Arab Emirates, scheduled from September 18 to 22. The national selection committee of ACB finalised the squad for the three-match ODI series. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
