Mujeeb Ur Rahman Amongst 5 Afghanistan Players To Not Have Visa Clearance Ahead Of The T20I Series Against Zimbabwe, Likely To Miss The First Match

5 Afghanistan players namely, spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, pacer Hamid Hassan, allrounder Gulbadin Naib, left-arm wrist spinner Waqar Salamkheil, and allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai, all are waiting for their “visa issue” to get resolved before they can join other members of the squad in Abu Dhabi to take on Zimbabwe in the 3-match T20I series.

After the 1-1 draw in the Test series, the action moves to the shortest international format, in which Afghanistan is a force to reckon with; they have won their last 6 bilateral T20I series, and have emerged victorious in 12 of their previous 17 series/tournaments.

Captain Asghar Afghan could miss one of his ace spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman in at least the first of the three-match series against Zimbabwe which commences on 17th March. According to an official release by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, the above-mentioned 5 players are having issues obtaining the visas and will join the 15-member squad, only after the visa clearance

The T20I series comes at a good time for us: Asghar Afghan

Asghar Afghan, Afghanistan’s all-format skipper, says that the 3-match series against Sean Williams’ side will serve as a good preparatory series for his team ahead of the Asia Cup – not confirmed yet, and its schedule is uncertain owing to Team India qualifying for the WTC final – and the T20 World Cup later in the year in India.

Afghan’s aims his team continues their strides in the shortest format. Afghanistan’s last T20I series, which was a 2-1 victory over Ireland, was played last March, just before the coronavirus pandemic brought the sport to a halt. However, most of their players have been playing in different franchise leagues around the world.