Afghanistan name squads for Bangladesh ODI and T20I series

Afghanistan have named their squads for the upcoming white-ball tour of Bangladesh, which will commence on February 23. The tour will begin with a three-match one-day international series in Chattogram, followed by two T20Is in Dhaka.

A 16-man squad has been named for the ODIs, which will be led by Hashmat Shahidi. Two travelling reserves Qais Ahmad and Salim Safi  have been named for the ODI leg. 

Qais, who is yet to make a T20I appearance, has also been named in the 16-member T20I squad, with Mohammad Nabi as captain. The squad also features two uncapped players – Darwish Rasooli and Nijat Masood. Azmat Omarzai, who is named in both the squads, could also be in line to make his first T20I appearance. Also Read - Afghanistan Cricket Board Hints at Inclusion of Women in Country's Cricket

There are five changes to the T20I lineup from the T20 World Cup last year with Darwish Rasooli, Azmarullah Omarzai, Afsar Zazai, Qais Ahmad and Nijat Masoud replacing Asghar Afghan (retired), Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Shahzad, Hashmatullah, Hamid Hassan and Naveen ul Haq in the 16-member side.

“From the 18 players who were part of the recently-concluded ODI series against the Netherlands, Usman Ghani has been left out, while top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran and the senior all-rounder Mohammad Nabi have been added to the 16-man squad, while Salim Safi and Qais Ahmad have been named as traveling reserves,” the ACB said.

ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said, “The selectors have included some young faces to the ODI line up which is a good sign for us, as we are leading into the World Cup next year. The three ODIs are important for us and I am sure the squad carries enough strength to do well when they get to the field”.

ODI squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Hashmat Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Najib Zadran, Shahid Kamal, Ikram Alikhil, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmat Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Yamin Ahmadzai, Farid Ahmad Mailk.

T20I squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazrat Zazai, Usman Ghani, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi (c), Najib Zadran, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, Azmat Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Qais Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Nijat Masood, Farid Ahmad Mailk.