Afghanistan has announced their squad for the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup, hosted by India. There are some surprising decisions made by the management, including the demotion of former captain Gulbadin Naib to the reserves. Naveen-ul-Haq is set to make a comeback to the squad after sustaining a knee injury. His addition to the pace attack will bolster the Afghanistan bowling attack.
Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the side, and will have the experience of Mohammed Nabi and the ace-spinner Rashid Khan by his side. Rahmanullah Gurbaz is set to become the primary wicket-keeper for the side. Their bowling attack includes the likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Noor Ahmed, and Mohammed Nabi.
The pace-attack consists of Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman and Azmatullah Omarzai. Afghanistan have endured a tough period in the Asia Cup, after not being able to secure a single win in the entire tournament. They had come close to a win against defending champions, Sri Lanka, but miscalculations from the management led to their eventual defeat.
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The side will hope to bring those positives into the World Cup and make their moments count as they look to secure their first victory in a World Cup game. Afghanistan coach, Lance Klusener, said that the team is “very excited” about the World Cup and that they have “a lot of positives” to take from their recent performances.
“We have a lot of experience in the squad, and we have some very talented young players,” Klusener said. “We are confident that we can compete with the best teams in the world.”
The Afghanistan side will commence their World Cup campaign as they face Bangladesh in the third match of the tournament, which is held in Dharamsala. The side will hope to improve on their previous campaign, when they were not able to bring up a single win in the tournament.
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Afghanistan Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmat Shah, Riaz Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil,Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-Ul-Haq
