Afghanistan announce their 15-member squad for 20-20 World Cup, Mohammad Nabi to lead

Afghanistan named their 15-member squad for the 20-20 Men’s World Cup 2022 on Thursday. Mohammad Nabi has been assigned captaincy duties for the upcoming mega event while Najibullah Zadran will travel to Australia as the vice-captain for the team.

Five players from the 17-member squad for the recently concluded Asia Cup have missed out on the name sheet for the World Cup. Samiullah Shinwari, Hasthmatullah Shahidi, Afsar Zazari, Karim Janat and Noor Ahmad have been excluded from the 15-member squad.

All-rounder Qais Ahmad, right-arm quick Salim Safi and middle-order batter Darwish Rasooli have made a comeback to the squad.

Rasooli was out from the team with a finger injury and has been included following his impressive performance in the Shpageeza Cricket League 2022.

Having played his last T20I match way back in March 2022, Qais Ahmad has made a return to the team while 20-year-old Safi has been given a maiden call-up.

“The Asia Cup was a very good opportunity for the team to buildup things nicely for the much-important global event in Australia,” Chief selector Noor Malikzai said.

“Fortunately, Darwish Rasooli has recovered from injury (broken finger) and we are happy to have him available for the WT20, he has demonstrated good glimpses of him in the previously held Shpageeza Cricket League 2022 and offers an additional batting option to our middle order.

“Since the Australian conditions offer further support for the fast bowlers, so we have added Salim Safi, the tall right-arm quick to add further impetus to our bowling department. Overall we have picked our best available players for the event and we are hopeful of them to do well and better represent the country in the mega event.”

Afghanistan 20-20 World Cup Squad: Mohammad Nabi (c), Najibullah Zadran (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi, Usman Ghani

Standby Players: Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib