It is unfortunate for Afghanistan as they would not see mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the squad since he is still nursing a sprained index finger on his right hand.
In addition to Mujeeb, top-order batsman Ibrahim Zadran has been forced out of the series because of an left leg ankle sprain. To replace Zardan, Afghanistan has called upon gifted batsman Abdul Malik who specializes in playing at the top-order.
Darwish Rasooli has also been considered to make his ODI debut for Afghanistan following his inclusion to the team. So far this 24-year-old batter has only seven T20I caps but has been performing consistently in other recent competitions like List A cup and SCL9.
“Mujeeb is still recuperating from injury so he is not available for selection. Ibrahim Zadran sustained an ankle injury just before he was supposed to play the third Test against New Zealand and will not be playing in the ODIs against South Africa either. However, we have included some of the youngsters who performed well, Abdul Malik and Darwish Rasooli. This series will involve Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar who is a clever and skillful cricketer in his own right as substitute for Mujeeb Ur Rahman,” said Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil, Chief Selector as quoted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).
All matches of this three-match ODI series will take place in Sharjah. This will be a first ever bilateral ODI competition between the teams from Afghanistan and South Africa. Prior to this upcoming series, their only encounters took place during 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups
Afghanistan Squad for the three-match ODI series against South Africa: 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.
