On Tuesday, Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) declared their 17-man squad for Asia Cup 2022. The tournament will start from 26th August in the UAE. Mohammad Nabi will lead the Afghanistan side. However, Nabi has been the captain for his side in the ongoing T20I series in Ireland.
Samiullah Shinwari came back to the squad. He will replace Sharafuddin Ashraf. However, Ashraf presently is playing in the Ireland series for Afghanistan. Moreover, Noor Alam, the left-arm wrist-spinner came back to the squad. Moreover, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Rashid Khan were added in the squad too. Najibullah Zadran is the vice-captain of Afghanistan.
However, there is a remarkable omission from the squad. It isn’t the same as what played in the last year’s T20 World Cup. The omission is Gulbadin Naib. He hasn’t represented for Afghanistan since the premier tournament last year.
Afghanistan Squad for Asia Cup 2022
Mohammad Nabi (C), Najibullah Zadran (VC), Afsar Zazai (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Mujib ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Rashid Khan and Samiullah Shinwari.
Afghanistan also named There are 3 reserve players in the Afghanistan squad for Asia Cup 2022. They are Nijat Masoud, Qais Ahmad, and Sharafuddin Ashraf.
Afghanistan will pull off the curtain of the 2022 Asia Cup. On 27th August Afghanistan will face Sri Lanka on August 22, in Group B. Later, on 30th August, they will face Bangladesh. The top 2 teams from each group will qualify for the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup.
Afghanistan are presently playing a 5-match T20I series against Ireland. Meanwhile, Nabi and co. came back from a 0-2 to level the series. However, this Wednesday, August 17, will witness the series decider. Henceforth, they will depart to the UAE for the Asia Cup campaign.
While clarifying the selection, chief selector Noor Malikzai said:
“The Asia Cup is an important event for us and, as such, we have picked our best available players for the event. Samiullah Shinwari has been added to the side for the Asia Cup. He is in very good form and can give further impetus to the batting department, which already boasts Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi.”
He further added,
“Shinwari has not played any international match since March 2020, but he has done well in the recently held Shpageeza Cricket League 2022 and demonstrated that he is a good option to strengthen our middle order.”
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