Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi
Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi playing for Aghanistan. Credits: Twitter

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has finalized their 15-man squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup that is scheduled to take place in the UAE. Mohammad Nabi will lead the side which also includes four reserve players.

The Afghans are in the second group for the tournament where they are placed alongside India, Pakistan, and New Zealand. Two more teams from the qualifiers, which begin on October 17, will join the aforementioned four teams.

ICC T20I World Cup 2021 trophy
ICC T20I World Cup 2021 trophy (Image Credit: Twitter)

There were certain doubts regarding Afghanistan’s participation in the T20 World Cup but the ICC acting CEO, Geoff Allardice, has confirmed that things will proceed as normal with respect to the Afghans. The Asian side will encounter the winner of Group B (qualifiers) in Round 1 on October 25.

There were no real surprises in the chosen squad, with the bowling being spearheaded by the spin duo of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman. Even the skipper, Nabi, will prove to be useful with his right-arm tweakers on the slow surfaces of the UAE.

Experienced campaigners, Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad will be in charge of the batting at the top, also backed by Asghar Afghan and Hasmatullah Shahidi. They are ranked seventh in the ICC Men’s T20I Rankings but with a spin-heavy lineup, Afghanistan can spring a surprise or two.

Rashid Khan, Afghanistan Bowler
Rashid Khan (Image Credit: Twitter)

Afghanistan’s Squad For The T20 World Cup 2021

Mohammad Nabi (c), Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Karim Janat, Hazratullah Zazai, Gulbadin Naib, Usman Ghani, Naveen ul Haq, Asghar Afghan, Hamid Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Farid Ahmad Malik.

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Reserves: Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Samullah Shinwari.

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