AFG vs IRE: Afghanistan Playing XI vs Ireland (Predicted), ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Match 25

AFG vs IRE: Afghanistan Playing XI vs Ireland (Predicted), ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Match 25. Afghanistan will play against Ireland in 25th Match, Group 1 (D/N), ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at Melbourne, on October 28, 2022, at 9:30 am IST. On 26th October 2022 (Today), Ireland won by 5 runs against England (DLS Method) while Afghanistan will play against New Zealand later in the day.

The start of the Afghanistan vs New Zealand match at Melbourne has been delayed due to rain. After starting their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign with a bang, Kane Williamson-led New Zealand faces a relatively easier opponent in Afghanistan today. The Blackcaps rolled over hosts and defending champions Australia in a one-sided contest in Sydney to get the Super-12 stage underway last Saturday.

After an emphatic win in their first match against defending champions Australia, the Kiwis will look to continue their winning momentum when they lock horns with Afghanistan at Melbourne Cricket Ground after the conclusion of the England vs Ireland match. England defeated Afghanistan in their first Super 12 Group 1 match (14th match) by 5 wickets. 

Pacer Sam Curran (5/10) became the first England bowler to take a five-wicket haul in T20Is as Jos Buttler led England beat Afghanistan by 5 wickets in Perth in a Super 12 Group 1 match. Chasing a modest 113, England crossed the finish line with 11 balls to spare.

Sam Curran’s five-for dismantled Afghanistan as England notched a five-wicket win in their opening ICC T20 World Cup 2022 match on Saturday. Sam Curran sizzled with a five-wicket haul, giving away only 10 runs, while Ben Stokes (2/19) and Mark Wood (2/23) picked two wickets apiece to bundle out Afghanistan for 112. Defending a modest total, the Afghans made a game out of it but England eventually completed the task in 18.1 overs.

England got off to a steady start with Alex Hales and Jos Buttler putting on an opening stand of 35 runs. But they suffered a brief scare in the middle as they went on to lose four wickets in the space of just 46 runs. Afghanistan could also sense that they were back in the game. But Liam Livingstone stepped up and scored an unbeaten 29 from 21 deliveries to guide England home.

While achieving a target of 113 was always expected, the manner in which England struggled, particularly against Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi, spoke of a few kinks still to be ironed out. The spin trio conceded just one boundary between them and emerged with a wicket each.

Brief Scores:- England 113 for 5 (Livingstone 29*) beat Afghanistan 112 (Curran 5-10) by five wickets

AFG vs IRE: Afghanistan Playing XI vs Ireland (Predicted), ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Match 25

Rahmanullah Gurbaz

Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be the preferred opener for the 2022 T20I World Cup due to the promising start to his career in the international arena. The young player may quickly eliminate the opposition’s momentum and can produce strong starts while batting as the top-order batter in the opening slot.

He was the 7th highest run-getter in the Asia Cup 2022 with 152 runs in 5 T20Is averaging 30.4. The keeper scored 10 against England in the 1st Super 12 game.

Hazratullah Zazai

Hazratullah Zazai is anticipated to start the batting lineup for the 2022 T20I World Cup alongside Rahmanullah Gurbaz. The 24-year-old would frequently use the aerial route and may occasionally play a big game. Thus he might as well prove to be the team’s standout player.

He scored 162* against Ireland in 2019, the 2nd highest T20I score after Australian Aaron Finch (172). He scored 94 runs in 5 T20Is in Asia Cup 2022 averaging 23.5. He scored only 7 against England.

Ibrahim Zadran

Ibrahim Zadran made his ODI debut on 11 November 2019 and T20I debut on 14 November 2019 against the Windies. He was the 3rd highest run-getter in Asia Cup 2022 with 196 runs in 5 T20Is averaging 65.33. He was Afghanistan’s leading run-getter in Asia Cup. He scored 32 against England.

Najibullah Zadran

Najibullah Zadran is among the most lethal T20 batters currently active, and he has a huge amount of expertise in the field. Najibullah Zadran can easily clear the ropes and will play a significant role in the fourth position. He managed 72 runs in 5 T20Is but at a strike rate of 171.43-the 2nd highest strike rate in Asia Cup 2022. He scored 13 against England.

Usman Ghani

One of the most exciting new talents to emerge from Afghanistan’s cricket programs in recent years, intrepid opening batsman Usman Ghani was good enough to play one-day international cricket for Afghanistan well before his 18th birthday.

He has amassed 735 runs in 31 T20Is averaging 27.22 after debuting in the shortest format against Zimbabwe in 2015. He didn’t play in the Asia Cup 2022. He has scored 4 fifties in T20Is. He scored 30 against England.

Azmatullah Omarzai

Azmatullah Omarzai made his T20I debut on 3 March 2022, for Afghanistan against Bangladesh. The right-arm pacer has picked 6 scalps in 15 T20Is averaging 42.17. He failed to pick a wicket despite playing 4 T20Is in the Asia Cup 2022. He bowled an over each in all of four matches in Asia Cup and conceded 41 runs. The 22-year-old may be replaced by the likes of 22-year-old batter Darwish Rasooli, uncapped Salim Safi, or 22-year-old leg spinner Qais Ahmad.

Mohammad Nabi

One of the finest all-rounders in the short-format game, Mohammad Nabi is highly potent with the bat and the ball. The 37-year-old, a veteran of more than 100 T20Is is thrifty with the ball during the powerplay overs and has a batting strike rate of about 140 in T20Is.

He led the Afghanistan team in the Asia Cup 2022 but failed with the bat scoring only 16 runs averaging 4 in 4 innings playing 5 T20Is. He also picked 3 scalps but averaged 42.33. He scored only 3 against England as his poor run with the bat continued. He also picked 1/16 against England.

Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan is now the strongest T20I spinner available, and he can win matches all by himself for his team. He has significantly improved as a batter and appears to be much more formidable as the game moves into its final overs.

He has been a force to reckon with in the T20I format, having 119 wickets from 72 games and averaging a mere 14.24 at an exemplary economy of only 6.24. He also has already taken 4 4-wicket and 2 5-wicket hauls in T20Is. He led the Afghan spin attack in the Asia Cup 2022 where he picked 6 scalps averaging 21.83 in 5 T20Is. He picked 1/17 against England in the first Super 12 game.

Fazalhaq Farooqi

Another rising star who has been spotted by numerous franchises worldwide is Fazalhaq Farooqi, a 21-year-old who already has established a name for himself in T20 Internationals. His numbers in the 20-over format are also decent as he has managed to scalp 19 wickets in 15 games averaging a mere 20.

He debuted in Abu Dhabi against Zimbabwe on March 2021. He was MOM in the Asia Cup 2022 opener against Sri Lanka, claiming 3/11 in only 3.4 overs. He picked the vital scalps of Kusal Mendis, Charith Asalanka, and Chamika Karunaratne. The left-arm pacer picked 6 scalps in 5 T20Is in the Asia Cup 2022 averaging 25.33. He picked 1/24 against England in the first Super 12 game.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Mujeeb Ur Rahman has not been as productive as he could have been at the beginning of his professional career, but he still manages to prevent the flow of runs.

In terms of diversity, the mystery spinner offers a lot, and he will team up with the experienced Rashid Khan to form a strong spin partnership at the 2022 T20I World Cup. He picked 7 scalps in 5 T20Is averaging 15.86 in Asia Cup 2022. The off-spinner averages 16.7 in T20Is, having picked 46 scalps in 34 T20Is. He picked 1/22 against England.

Fareed Ahmad

Fareed Ahmad, the 21-year-old left-arm pacer has picked 30 scalps in 21 T20Is averaging 19.87. He picked 1/23 against England in ICC T20 World Cup 2022, He did well in Asia Cup 2022, picking 5 scalps in 2 games averaging 17.6. His career best of 3/14 came against Ireland in a bilateral series in this year-2022.

Afghanistan might consider replacing Fareed Ahmad with the 21-year-old right-arm pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. The latter has been effective in T20Is, taking 28 wickets in 21 T20I matches for an average of 19.46. He picked 3 scalps in as many matches in Asia Cup 2022 averaging 31.33.