Afghanistan name 17-man squad for South Africa series, Rashid Khan returns

Afghanistan Cricket Board’s National Selection Committee has named the squad for three-match ODI series against South Africa, scheduled to be played from September 18 to 22 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in UAE.

Afghanistan will be without the services of the prolific top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran who has been ruled out of the series due to an ankle sprain in his left leg. The AfghanAtalan lineup will continue to miss the expertise of its frontline spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, who is yet to fully recover from a right phalanx sprain.

Talented right-hand top-order batter Abdul Malik, who recently put on some incredible performances in domestic List A competitions, has been called up to cover for the injured Zadran. Darwish Rasooli, who has seven T20I caps to his name so far and has put on terrific consistent performances in the recently held List A Cup and the SCL9, has been called up to the national for the South Africa Series.

AfghanAtalan lineup will also have the services of its all-time greatest spinner Rashid Khan, who missed the previous ODI series against Ireland. The rest of the squad remains the same that helped Afghanistan win the 3-match ODI series 2-0 against Ireland back in March this year.

“Hosting South Africa for the first time in our cricketing history is a huge milestone for Afghanistan Cricket. They are a top-quality side, and playing against them in an ODI series is something we are all excited about,” ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said. “Our team has shown great performances in ICC events over the past two-three years, and we are focused on making our team equally competitive in bilateral cricket.” 

ACB Chief Selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil: "Mujeeb Ur Rahman continues to recover from his injury and is unavailable for selection. Ibrahim Zadran will also miss the South Africa ODIs for twisting his ankle on the edge of the New Zealand Test. However, we have included some of the top-performing youngsters in Abdul Malik and Darwish Rasooli. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar is also a talented cricketer and has demonstrated excellent skills recently and will cover for Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the series.” 

Afghanistan Squad for the three-match ODI series: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik. 

Afghanistan vs South Africa ODI series fixtures