Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead Afghanistan in their maiden ICC Men’s Champions Trophy as the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed the 15-player squad for the big event to be hosted by Pakistan.
According to the ICC, Afghanistan arrived in the tournament on the back of impressive displays at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in 2023 and last year’s Men’s T20 World Cup, where they finished as semifinalists.
A big inclusion is that of Ibrahim Zadran, who’s marking a return from an ankle injury he sustained last year.
He will accompany swashbuckling Rahmanullah Gurbaz at the top of the batting followed by the likes of Rahmat Shah and skipper Shahidi, making up for a strong top-four.
The bowling unit is strengthened by the presence of star tweaker Rashid Khan alongside all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, and Fazalhaq Farooqi, who is the pace spearhead.
A notable absentee is Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, who was a key member of Afghanistan’s squad in the Men’s Cricket World Cup back in 2023.
Explaining the absence of the off-spinner, the ACB interim chief selector Ahmad Suliman Khil stated, “Mujeeb Ur Rahman was not available for the selection as he has been advised by his doctor to focus on T20s for a while to ensure his full recovery before returning to ODIs. That was also the reason he missed on the recently concluded ODI series against Zimbabwe.”
The team have also named three additional reserves to go alongside the 15-member squad.
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Farid Malik, Naveed Zadran.
