Afghanistan, on Tuesday (April 30), announced its squad for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024. Rashid Khan has been named captain of the 15-member squad for the showpiece event, scheduled to be played in June in the United States and the Caribbean .
Hashmatullah Shahidi, who led Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup last year, failed to make the cut for the T20 World Cup. The left-handed batsman last played a T20I for Afghanistan in 2022. Shahidi has played only six T20Is so far and was also not part of the Afghan team in the last T20 World Cup.
The Afghan team has also made some additions to its squad compared to the 2022 edition as players like Karim Janat, Mohammad Ishaq and Noor Ahmad have been named in the squad. Left-arm spinner Nangyal Kharoti, 20, has also been included in the squad.
Kharoti made his T20I debut for Afghanistan last month during the T20I series against Ireland and hit the ground running. He picked up an impressive five wickets in three games and maintained a brilliant economy rate of just 5.90.
Talking about another new face on the team. Mohammad Ishaq also made the cut. The 19-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman has played four T20Is so far. He was part of the Afghanistan team in the 2020 and 2022 ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cups.
Afghanistan team:
The responsibility of handing over the bat to Afghanistan will fall on the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran. The Asian team has a formidable attack for the tournament. The spin department will be led by captain Rashid Khan and will consist of players like Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Nangyal Kharoti and veteran Mohammad Nabi.
As far as the team’s fast bowlers are concerned, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fareed Ahmad and Fazalhaq Farooq have been named in the team.
Afghanistan squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2024:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik
Bookings: Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Saleem Safi