The Afghanistan Cricket Board’s selection committee revealed an 18-member squad on Friday, and regular T20I captain Rashid Khan has been ruled out of the forthcoming three-match T20I series against the UAE.
“Afghanistan Cricket Board’s Selection Committee named an 18-member Afghanistan National Squad for the three-match T20I Series against UAE starting tomorrow at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE,” according to an official statement from the ACB. Ibrahim Zadran, a top-order batsman, will captain the team for the duration of the series in Rashid’s absence. Sharjah Cricket Stadium will host Afghanistan’s three-match Twenty20 International series against the United Arab Emirates from December 29 to January 2, 2024. As he recovers from recent back surgery, Afghanistan’s regular T20I captain, Rashid Khan, is not included in the starting lineup. The statement went on to say that top-order batsman Ibrahim Zadran has been named the standby captain and will captain the AfghanAtalan lineup for the three-match T20I series against the UAE.
Notably, two of the three players, fast bowlers Fazal Haq Farooqi and Naveen Ul Haq, who recently faced penalties for their decision to forego annual central contracts, have now been added to the team. They have made a request for the previously assigned committee to reevaluate its decision regarding the disciplinary measures imposed against them, and they have approached the ACB with a strong desire to represent their country once more. The ACB responded by recognising and applauding their desire to work closely with the Afghanistan Cricket Board and to stay committed to representing their nation. In addition, the ACB asked the relevant committee to carry out a thorough investigation and encouraged them to report back to the board with their conclusions and recommendations after carefully reviewing the players’ requests.
The ACB had previously stated in a press release that it would evaluate and determine these players’ involvement in events as needed. In light of the board’s consideration, two of these players have now been added to the UAE series roster. Afghanistan’s squad for the three-match Twenty20 International Series against the United Arab Emirates is: Ibrahim Zadran (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Sediqullah Atal, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, and Qais Ahmad. Rashid Khan, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Ikram Alikhil and Gulbadin Naib have been included in the squad as reserves.
