The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced the final national team squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021. The tournament begins on October 17 with the round 1 matches, while the Super 12s round begins on October 23.
Afghanistan is placed in Group 2 of the Super 12s, along with India, Pakistan, and New Zealand. They will play their first match against the qualifier from Group B on October 25 in Sharjah. Next, they will play Pakistan on October 29 in Dubai, Qualifier from group A on October 31st, India on November 3rd, and New Zealand on November 7th.
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Afghanistan had announced Rashid Khan as captain of the team for the event however, he resigned from captaincy minutes after the probable squad for the tournament was announced a few days back. This led to the ACB officials under the new Taliban regime, giving the leadership post to Mohammad Nabi.
The squad has been trimmed to 15 men and 4 reserve players have been named as well. Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been named the wicketkeeper, though Mohammad Shahzad has also been included in the squad. Former captains Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, and Rashid Khan also feature.
T20 powerhouse batters Najibullah Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, and star spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman have been named as well. Farid Malik, Hamid Hassan, and Naveen Ul Haq have been named the pacers.
The reserve players include Sharafuddin Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Fazal Haq Farooqi.
Afghanistan squad:
Mohammad Nabi (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Hamid Hassan, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveen Ul Haq
Reserve players: Sharafuddin Ashraf, Samiullah Shinwari, Dawlat Zadran, Fazal Haq Farooqi
