Afghanistan have named a 22-player preliminary squad for their upcoming tri-series with Pakistan and the UAE, as well as the Asia Cup next month. Star spinner Rashid Khan will lead the side in both competitions.
The squad sees the return of key white-ball performers including Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi and veteran Mohammad Nabi – all of whom played crucial roles in Afghanistan’s run to the knockout stage of last year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Youngsters Wafiullah Tarakhil, Abdullah Ahmadzai and Bashir Ahmad have been named in the preliminary squad and could be in line for international debuts during the upcoming fixtures.
The team will undergo a two-week training camp in preparation for the tri-series, set to be held in Sharjah. Afghanistan’s Asia Cup campaign begins on 9 September in Abu Dhabi against Hong Kong.
Afghanistan are placed in Group B of the Asia Cup alongside Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong.
Afghanistan preliminary squad: Rashid Khan (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Sediqullah Atal, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Nangyal Kharoti, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Zadran, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq, Farid Malik, Saleem Safi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad.