Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan's ICC World Cup 2023 squad announced: Details
Afghanistan's 15-member squad for the ICC World Cup 2023 in India has been named on Wednesday. Afghanistan, who failed to reach the ongoing Asia Cup Super Fours, will be led by Hashmatullah Shahidi. Naveen-ul-Haq returns to the Afghanistan ODI squad after a two-year gap. However, senior all-rounder Gulbadin Naib missed out despite a good showing recently. Here are further details.
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A look at Afghanistan's World Cup squad
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq. Reserve Players: Gulbadin Naib, Sharafudin Ashraf, Farid Ahmad Malik.
Joy for Naveen; Gulbadin made to wait
Naveen, who last played a List A game in 2021, comes back into the squad. Naveen has played only seven ODIs to date, taking 14 wickets at an average of 25.42. Meanwhile, Naib, who took a four-wicket haul against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup, found himself out of the squad. He is named as a reserve player list.
Rashid Khan the focus as Afghanistan out to showcase potential
Leading wicket-taker for Afghanistan in ODIs, Rashid Khan, is the star attraction. He has 172 scalps for the Afghans at 19.53. In the 2019 World Cup, Rashid managed six wickets. Senior figure Mohammad Nabi is Afghanistan's second-highest wicket-taker in the ICC World Cup (13). Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who is closing in on 1,000 ODI runs, remains a vital cog in their batting unit.
