Afghanistan Name Squad For World Cup 2019, New Captain Gulbadin Naib To Lead

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced its squad for the upcoming World Cup 2019. Newly appointed captain Gulbadin Naib will be leading the team for the first time in the World Cup.

In a surprising move, the ACB had changed its captains across the three formats, removing Ashar Aghan from the job.

Despite strong reactions from seniors Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, ACB has persisted with Naib as the captain for the 10-team tournament.

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Asghar Afghan has been named in the side.

Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali Zadran, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan are few of the regulars in the side.

Dawlat Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai and Rahmat Shah are other members in the team.

Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, who is having a mixed IPL and is struggling with injuries, has also been named in the team.

He was dropped from Afghanistan’s Test squad for the historic tie against Ireland.

Afghanistan will kick off their World Cup 2019 campaign against Sri Lanka on June 4 at Sophia Gardens.

The Gullbadin Naib-led side will later go on to face other eight teams in the tournament.

This will be the second time when Afghanistan will be playing in the 50-over World Cup.

They were a part of 2015 World Cup but could just win one out of six games.

Under Asghar Afghan, Afghanistan had booked a place in World Cup 2019 after winning the qualifier tournament.

Rashid Khan had also led the team during the tournament.

Along with them, West Indies was the second team that qualified for the World Cup 2019, taking the 10th spot.

Unlike 2015 World Cup, Afghanistan will the team to watch out for in this year’s event.

The stature of Afghanistan cricket has grown up leaps and bounds in past couple of years.

Their success also saw them become a permanent nation of ICC, that saw them make their Test debut last year.

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However, Afghanistan are not a strong contender to win the tournament but they can play a crucial role in deciding the fate of other teams.

Prior to 2019 World Cup, Afghanistan play Scotland and Ireland to prepare for the tournament.

This will also mean that Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Mohammad Nabi, who are playing IPL, will have to return from India to be part of the squad for the preparatory matches.

Squad: Gulbadin Naib (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman.