NEWS
Follow UsOn September 12 (Thursday), the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced a 17-member squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa. On expected lines, their star opener Ibrahim Zadran misses out with an injury. Mujeeb ur Rahman, too, won’t be part of the setup, due to suffering from a right phalanx sprain.
Abdul Malik, who put on some incredible display at the List A level, has been called up as a cover for Zadran. Darwish Rasooli, who has seven T20I caps to his name so far and has put on terrific consistent performances in the recently held List A Cup and the SCL9, has also been called up.
“Hosting South Africa for the first time in our cricketing history is a huge milestone for Afghanistan Cricket. They are a top-quality side, and playing against them in an ODI series is something we are all excited about,” Naseeb Khan, ACB’s CEO.
“Our team has shown great performances in ICC events over the past two-three years, and we are focused on making our team equally competitive in bilateral cricket.
"Mujeeb Ur Rahman continues to recover from his injury and is unavailable for selection. Ibrahim Zadran will also miss the South Africa ODIs for twisting his ankle on the edge of the New Zealand Test. However, we have included some of the top-performing youngsters in Abdul Malik and Darwish Rasooli. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar is also a talented cricketer and has demonstrated excellent skills recently and will cover for Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the series,” Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil, ACB’s chief selector said.
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.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.
