Afghanistan Playing 11 vs Hong Kong- Asia Cup 2025, Match 1

Afghanistan will take on Hong Kong in the first match of the Asia Cup 2025. This article provides details about Afghanistan's Playing 11 vs Hong Kong for the first match of the tournament.

Afghanistan Playing 11 vs Hong Kong- Asia Cup 2025, Match 1:

Openers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal

Afghanistan would like to start the 2025 Asia Cup 2025 with a win over Hong Kong as the two teams are scheduled to kick off the tournament at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on September 9.

The Afghans would bank on their batters to come good in the opening match of the eight-team tournament to increase their chances of doing that, like they did in the recently concluded tri-nation series.

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For starters, the Rashid Khan-led side would hope for the new opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal to give the team a solid start at the top of the order.

Gurbaz's form in particular has been a cause of concern for the team as he was off colour in most of the matches in the tri series.

The team management would want Gurbaz to get back into form for an important clash against Hong Kong, a team that has got the better of Afghanistan in two out of the five matches that they have played against them in T20Is.

Sediqullah Atal, on the other hand, has done wonders for the fortune of the team since being promoted to open the innings and would wish to keep up the good work against Hong Kong.

Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (c)

The openers will be followed by an inform middle order, which time and again has shown what it is capable of doing.

The Afghan middle-order batting includes the likes of Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, and Darwish Rasooli.

The young batters have got the good support of the experienced duo of Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan, both of whom haven't had much to do with the bat in the recent past

Despite having depth in their batting lineup, Afghanistan bat sensibly and look to score in excess of 170 runs.

Their reason for this cautious approach is the spin bowling that the Afghans possess, which can defend a par total.

Bowlers: Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Talking about the Afghan bowling department, it relies heavily on spinners and has different variety of them.

The bowling lineup is filled with names like Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, and captain Rashid Khan, with Fazalhaq Farooqi being the only specialist fast bowler.

The majority of the work will once again be done by the spinners as far as Afghanistan's bowling is concerned due to the conditions which are expected to be in their favour.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman will bowl in the first six overs from one end, with Fazalhaq Farooqi taking control from the other to pick early wickets for the teams and make things easy for other bowlers.