The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has revealed the lineup of 17 players who will be representing the team in the highly anticipated Asia Cup 2023. This exciting tournament is scheduled to kick off on August 30th and will be jointly hosted by the nations of Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Hashmatullah Shahidi is set to captain the team in the forthcoming major Asia Cup tournament. In addition, Karim Janat and Azmatullah Omarzai have been included after their return, and veteran players like Rahmat Shah and Najibullah Zadran, who missed the Pakistan ODIs due to injuries, are also back in the side. The batting department boasts outstanding quality, while the bowling squad will be headlined by the renowned Rashid Khan, alongside Fazalhaq Farooqi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Janat played his only ODI for Afghanistan in February 2017 against Zimbabwe and hasn’t competed in the format since then. But Janat has made appearances in T20Is, notably taking a hat-trick against Bangladesh, and even made his Test debut this year.
Ashraf, who hasn’t played ODIs since January 2022, also makes a comeback to the team as a reserve spinner. Najibullah, who missed the recently-concluded ODI series against Pakistan owing to a knee injury, has been included in the lineup and is expected to recuperate from the ailment before the commencement of the event, stated Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in its statement.
It’s vital to emphasize that Afghanistan is joining the Asia Cup 2023 following an ODI series loss to Pakistan. Their journey includes a fiercely contested second game, where victory slipped through their fingers, resulting in a dramatic one-wicket defeat. Afghanistan endured defeats in the remaining matches as well, with losses of 142 runs (in the first ODI) and 59 runs (in the third ODI), finally amounting to a humiliating 0-3 defeat.
Looking ahead to their Asia Cup 2023 campaign, Afghanistan finds themselves positioned in Group B alongside Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The action opens off with a showdown versus Bangladesh on a Sunday, September 3, at the legendary Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. This will be followed by another key encounter against Sri Lanka, again at the same site, set for September 5.
Afghanistan Announced Asia Cup squad:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem and Fazalhaq Farooqi
