The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has named a 19-member squad for the three-match T20I series against India. The T20I series will be played from January 11 to 17, 2024. The first T20I will be played in Mohali, the second in Indore and the third in Bengaluru.
Afghanistan will be led by Ibrahim Zadran. He recently led the Afghans to a victory in the T20I series against the United Arab Emirates in Sharjah. Veteran players Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran and Guladin Naib are part of the team and Rashid Khan also returns to the team after being rested for the match against the United Arab Emirates. However, Rashid is unlikely to feature in the series as he continues to recover from a back injury.
The ACB also included Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq and Mujeeb Ur Rahman after the trio were not interested in signing domestic contracts recently. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, the attacking batsman is also part of the T20I team. Hasmatullah Shahidi, who led Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup, has been rested for this tour.
This is the first time that India and Afghanistan will play a bilateral T20I series. Previously, both the teams have faced each other in ICC ODI and T20I cricket tournaments. Afghanistan’s recent defeat against India was in the ODI World Cup 2023. The Afghans are yet to beat India in white-ball formats and also in Test cricket.
Delighted to embark on your inaugural tour to India: ACB President: Mirwais Ashraf
“We are delighted to embark on our inaugural tour to India for a three-match series. India is the top ranked team in the world and it is very nice to see AfghanAtalan competing in a three-match T20I against them. We believe Afghans are no longer the underdogs and have performed well in the recent past and we are looking forward to a highly competitive series against India,” said ACB President Mirwais Ashraf.
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Super Cola Beverages Manufacturing Company, Etisalat Afghan Telecommunication Company, Lava Mobile and Intex Technologies have bagged sponsorships with the Afghan Cricket Board for this series.
Team India’s squad will also be announced in the coming days for the three-match series. Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav will miss the T20I series against Afghanistan due to injury problems.
This could make the BCCI selectors turn to Rohit Sharma to lead the Indian T20I team with the return of veteran players like Virat Kohli. Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah could be rested from the series and Mohammed Shami will also miss the series with an ankle injury.
Some Indian players may also be called up to the Indian team for the T20I series against Afghanistan. This is a key T20I series for both teams ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup in the US and the Caribbean. India, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and the United States form Group A. Afghanistan is placed in Group C along with New Zealand, West Indies, Uganda and Papua New Guinea.
Afghanistan squad for three-match T20I series against India:
Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.
Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2024: You will need experienced players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma – Irfan Pathan
