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Afghanistan National Cricket Team reveals its full team to face India for a three-match T20I series in Delhi. The series will be in Delhi but will be hosted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). So basically, it will be India's away series.
The Afghanistan team management makes a big call by recalling Naveen ul Haq to the squad. Naveen ul Haq is well known among the Indian cricket fans because of his rift with the Indian cricket legend Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli has now retired from the format, so if Haq selects to play against India, then the crowd will definitely miss the rivalry between the Afghan fast bowler and the Indian batting maestro.
Afghanistan Cricket Board announces full squad for a three-match T20I series against India in September this year
ACB has named Ibrahim Zadran as the captain of the team, with stars like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Gulbadin Naib. Rashid Khan is also mentioned in the list of players.
This year, these two nations already faced each other in Test and ODI formats. The previous series was hosted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). In ODIs and Tests, India dominated the Afghanistan cricket team. The Afghans are determined to turn things around in the upcoming T20I series, which is scheduled to start on September 13 and will run until September 17. All of the matches will be held at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
In an official press release on August 24, the ACB CEO Naseeb Khan mentioned that for the high-voltage series, they have tried to create a well-balanced and fully prepared squad so that they can fetch good results against the Indian cricket team.
"The Afghanistan Cricket Board has always made every effort to select a well-balanced and fully prepared squad for all relevant competitions. We have followed the same approach for the upcoming series against India, and I hope the Afghanistan team will deliver an outstanding performance in these matches," said cricket board Chief Executive Officer, Naseeb Khan.
"It is a great pride that Afghanistan is hosting a major cricketing nation for the first time. This reflects the progress Afghan cricket has made toward achieving its major objectives and shows that we are steadily advancing toward the strategic goals identified by the organization," he added.
The return of Naveen ul Haq
The addition of Naveen ul Haq to the team is one of the surprising elements who last played for the national team back in 2024, against Zimbabwe on December 14 for a T20I match.
Since then, he has remained mostly out of the side, as he already announced his retirement from the ODI format. Naveen ul Haq retired from One Day International cricket at the age of 24 following the conclusion of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.
Afghanistan Squad for the Three-Match T20I Series Against India:
Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Noor Rahman (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Abdullah Ahmadzai and Naveen-ul-Haq.
Reserves: Ijaz Ahmadzai, Shahidullah Kamal and Fareed Ahmad Malik
