Afghanistan announce squad for T20 World Cup 2024; Rashid Khan to lead the team
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Tuesday announced a 15-member squad for the T20 World Cup 2024. The much-anticipated event will take place from June 1-29 in the USA and the West Indies.
The skillful spinner, Rashid Khan will lead the Afghanistan team, which boasts veteran players like Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, and Gulbadin Naib. Rashid has been leading the side since December 2022, when he replaced Nabi.
The notable batters in the side are Ibrahim Zadran and Najibullah Zadran, while the all-rounders Karim Janat and Azmatullah Omarzai provide the balance to the team.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mohammad Ishaq will be the wicketkeepers for the side. On the spin-bowling front, Noor Ahmad finds a place along with youngster, Nangyal Kharoti. Meanwhile, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Fareed Malik complete the well-rounded pace bowling attack for the Afghanistan team.
Moreover, the reserves for this squad are Sediq Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, and Saleem Safi.
It will be interesting to see if the talented Afghanistan side can have a deeper run in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Afghanistan Squad for T20 WC 2024: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Fareed Ahmad Malik.
Afghanistan's recent performance in T20Is
The Afghan team faced Ireland in a three-match T20I series in Sharjah in March 2024. After losing the first game by 38 runs, they went on to secure a 10-run and 57-run victory in the following two games to register a 2-1 victory.
Mohammad Nabi was the finest batter for the team with 90 runs, followed by Ibrahim Zadran with 88 runs. Rashid Khan was the standout bowler in the series for them with eight wickets, while Azmatullah Omarzai and Nangyal Kharoti picked up five wickets, respectively.
Earlier, the Rashid Khan-led side faced a 2-1 and 3-0 loss against Sri Lanka and India, respectively.
When talking about performances in 2024, Ibrahim Zadran tops the batting charts with 284 runs in 10 innings. Nabi (233) and Rahmanullah Gurbaz (212) are second and third, respectively. On the other hand, Azmatullah Omarzai has scalped 13 wickets in nine appearances, followed by Naveen-ul-Haq (11) and Rashid Khan (8).