The Afghanistan Cricket Board on Sunday announced their 17-member squad for the upcoming ACC Men’s Asia Cup. The team will play under the leadership of Hashmatullah Shahidi. Afghanistan will play their first match against Bangladesh on 3rd September in Lahore, Pakistan.
Karim Janat, Najibullah Zadran and Sharafuddin Ashraf have come out of the injury and have been added to the squad.
Naveen-Ul-Haq has been dropped from the Squad.
ACB on Official Website:
Mohammad Saleem Safi and Abdul Rahman, two fast bowlers, who were part of Afghanistan’s recent home ODI series against Pakistan, have retained their spots in the lineup, but Fareed Ahmad and Wafadar Momand have been left out of the squad for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup in 2023.
Azmatullah Omarzai, a seam-bowling All-rounder, has been ruled out of the competition due to a side strain. Gulbadin Naib and Karim Janat have been added to the team to serve as backup all-rounders in the team. Sharafuddin Ashraf, a left-arm spin bowling all-rounder, has also been included to the team as a reserve spinner.
Najibullah Zadran, who missed the recently concluded Pakistan Series due to a knee injury has been included in the lineup and is expected to recover from the injury prior to the start of the event. Shahidullah Kamal, who had replaced him in the series, has been left out of the Asia Cup squad. As quoted by ACB
Afghanistan Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem Safi and Fazal Haq Farooqi.
Asia Cup 2023 Schedule:
Total 13 matches 4 in Pakistan and 9 in Sri Lanka.
30 August 2023: Pakistan vs Nepal, Multan, Pakistan.
31 August 2023: Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
2 September 2023: Pakistan vs India, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
3 September 2023: Bangladesh vs Afghanistan, Lahore, Pakistan.
4 September 2023: India vs Nepal, Kandy, Sri Lanka.
5 September 2023: Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan, Lahore, Pakistan.
6 September 2023: Super 4s – A1 vs B2, Lahore, Pakistan.
9 September 2023: B1 vs B2, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
10 September 2023: A1 vs A2, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
12 September 2023: A2 vs B1, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
14 September 2023: A1 vs B1, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
15 September 2023: A2 vs B2, Colombo, Sri Lanka.
17 September 2023: Final, Colombo, Sri Lanka.