Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced 15 member squad for the marquee event which is set to be held in Australia. Afghanistan are placed in Group 1 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 along with defending champions Australia, New Zealand and England. Also, the winners of Group A and the runners-up of Group B will join Group 1.
Afghanistan’s most experienced player Mohammad Nabi will lead his team in this mega event. In the announced squad, some star players will miss out on combinations due to lousy performances, like; Samiullah Shinwari, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, and Noor Ahmad, who had played in the Asia Cup 2022.
Top-order batter Darwish Rasooli is making his comeback after a finger injury. His contribution with bat and ball in Shpageeza Cricket League 2022 was outstanding, and Afghanistan believes he will retain the same performance in Australia as well. All-rounder Qais Ahmed has been added to the list; he played his last T20 international match in March 2022 against Bangladesh. The rising 20-year-old pacer Salim Safi has been selected, to add additional strength to the bowling department on the bouncy track of Australia.
“The Asia Cup was a very good opportunity for the team to buildup things nicely for the much-important global event in Australia,” Chief selector Noor Malikzai said. As we know, Afghanistan played far better in the Asia Cup 2022 than their previous performances. And that is why Afghanistan is one of the critical contenders for the T20 World Cup 2022.
Squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi, Usman Ghani
Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib
