Rashid Khan will lead an experienced 15-man Afghanistan squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup, the ACB announced on Tuesday. Of the 15 players, eight are currently involved in the IPL.
The squad has only four batters - wicketkeeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Najibullah Zadran, and back-up keeper Mohammad Ishaq, but the presence of six allrounders makes up for it. Alongside Rashid, the other allrounders in the Afghanistan squad are Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat and Nangeyalia Kharote.
SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT!
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) April 30, 2024
Here's AfghanAtalan's Squad for the ICC Men's T20I World Cup 2024. #AfghanAtalan | #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/M7oTF8ZPaa
The pair of Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and Noor Ahmad complete Afghanistan's spin quintet with Rashid, Nabi and Kharote. Naveen-ul-Haq is the lone right-arm fast bowler apart from the allrounders, with left-arm pacers Fazalhaq Farooqi and Fareed Ahmad closing out the 15.
This will be the first time that Noor, Kharote and, Ishaq - who featured in the last two men's U-19 World Cups - will play at the T20 World Cup. Hashmatullah Shahidi, who captained Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup, was not selected.
There was no place for left-hand opener Hazratullah Zazai in the main squad. He is one of three travelling reserves to the USA and the Caribbean, alongside Sediqullah Atal and Mohammad Saleem.
Afghanistan are in Group C in the 20-team tournament, with two other Test teams, New Zealand and co-hosts West Indies, in their group. Uganda, their first opponents on June 3, and Papua New Guinea are the other two teams in Group C.
May 1, 2024, 7:30am GMT - Earlier version counted Karim Janat, who played the 2021 edition, as a first-timer instead of Nangeyalia Kharote.