Afghanistan squad for the Asia Cup 2025: Veteran leg-spinner Rashid Khan is set to lead Afghanistan in next month’s T20I Asia Cup 2025 as the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) officially announced their 22-man preliminary squad for the upcoming continental tournament.
Amid much debate and controversy given the political tension between India and Pakistan, the Asia Cup 2025 is set to be played from September 9 to September 28 in the UAE. The eight-team competition is slated to be played in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with India walking in as the defending champions.
Before the Asia Cup, though, Afghanistan will feature in a tri-series involving Pakistan and the UAE in Sharjah from August 29 to September 7.
The ACB have revealed a 22-member squad for the tri-series with Pakistan and the UAE and the following Asia Cup. The squad will take part in a two-week training camp ahead of the tri-series.
By his side, Rashid will have the experienced heads of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Mohammad Nabi, the players who were instrumental in Afghanistan reaching the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2024. Among youngsters, Afghanistan have roped in Abdullah Ahmadzai, Wafiullah Tarakhil, and Bashir Ahmad.
The ACB are not worried about Rashid Khan’s concerning form during the IPL 2025, where he picked up only nine scalps at an economy rate of 9.3 and an average of 57, numbers too low for his standards.
“Rashid Khan is Afghanistan’s superstar player. He has always done it for the team. Being in form or out of form, that’s a part of the game, but he knows very well how to come back stronger and perform in major events for the team and the country,” said the ACB’s selection committee member Mir Mubariz.
In the Asia Cup, Afghanistan are grouped with Bangladesh, Hong Kong, and Sri Lanka. The top two teams from each of the two groups will proceed to the Super 4 round. The other group includes India, Pakistan, Oman, and the UAE.
Afghanistan squad for the Asia Cup 2025 and tri-series:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Ishaq, Rashid Khan (C), Mohammad Nabi, Nangyal Kharoti, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Zadran, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq, Farid Malik, Saleem Safi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad.
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