ICC World Cup 2019: Strongest Afghanistan Playing XI
The rise of the Afghanistan cricket team has been like a fairytale. The team played its first ODI match in the year 2009 and 10 years later, it will be making its 2nd appearance in the ODI World Cup. They have also achieved test status and possess immense talent in their side.
However, their journey in the ICC World Cup 2019 will not be that easy as they will be up against the best cricket teams of the world. Also, Afghanistan's key strength is their spinners but the World Cup will be played in swing friendly English conditions.
Afganistan's 2019 World Cup campaign will kick off on 1st June 2019 against Australia and before that the Blue Tigers will play 9 ODI matches which will help them finalize their final playing XI for the World Cup.
With the World Cup just 4 months away, let's look at the strongest possible Afghanistan playing XI for the global tournament.
Openers - Mohammad Shahzad and Javed Ahmadi
Afghanistan's opening pair has a solid combination of attack and defense. On one side, they have the explosive Mohammad Shahzad who smashes more boundaries than the singles he takes and provides the team a blistering start. And on the other end, they have the cool Javed Ahmadi who builds the innings patiently.
Shehzad and Ahmadi have opened the innings several times for Afghanistan and they seem to be the best possible opening combination available with the team at the moment. While, Mohammad Shahzad holds the record for the most ODI centuries by an Afghan player, Javed Ahmadi has registered 7 half-centuries to his name in the format.
Both the openers will have to play consistently in order to boost Afghanistan's chances of progressing in the World Cup.