Rashid Khan is set to lead the Afghanistan team in the T20I-format Asia Cup in the UAE, the side’s de facto home venue. A spin-heavy bowling attack, including – besides Rashid – Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, and Mohammad Nabi, forms a strong lineup that should be exceedingly potent in the UAE’s conditions.
Ghazanfar, who is yet to play a T20I, was rewarded with a call-up for his incredible stint in the Vitality Blast for Derbyshire, where he bagged 16 wickets at an average of 24. However, it was hardly his first show of brilliance, having already proved his mettle in ODIs for Afghanistan. He was due to play the IPL this year as well but was sidelined due to injury. Ghazanfar comes in for Nangeyalia Kharote, who will form the reserves with Wafiullah Tarakhil and Abdullah Ahmadzai for the tournament.
Noor Ahmad, who was arguably the sole bright spot for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) this edition, will be a major threat for other sides. He missed bagging the purple cap by a whisker, with Prasidh Krishna – the eventual highest wicket-taker of the season – getting one wicket more.
Rashid, who himself had a dismal IPL season, will be glad that his brilliant form in the Hundred has given him the much-needed morale boost. Besides Kharote, Afghanistan have also left out top-order batter Hazratullah Zazai and all-rounder Zubair Akbari from the squad that played Zimbabwe in December last year. Akbari, who has only played three T20Is, couldn’t make a strong case for himself, scoring just 1 and 2 against Zimbabwe. In Zazai’s place, Ibrahim Zadran will open for the side with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, while Sharafuddin Ashraf will fill in for Akbari.
Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq will spearhead the fast-bowling lineup, with Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib wrapping up the attack.
This will be the second multi-nation tournament that Afghanistan play under Rashid Khan as captain. The first was the 2024 T20 World Cup, where they reached their first-ever final of an ICC event as well as triumphing over sides like New Zealand and Australia. Since then, though, they have hardly played the format. Their only three fixtures in T20Is came against Zimbabwe in December. However, many of the players in the Asia Cup-bound squad have been active in franchise cricket.
They are scheduled to face Pakistan and the UAE in a tri-series as a warm-up to the competition, which begins on August 29 in the UAE. Afghanistan are in Group B with Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and will open their campaign – as well as the tournament – on September 9 in Abu Dhabi.
Afghanistan squad for 2025 Asia Cup:
Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Farid Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Reserve players: Wafiullah Tarakhil, Nangeyalia Kharote, Abdullah Ahmadzai
Afghanistan’s group fixtures in the Asia Cup:
9 September – Afghanistan v Hong Kong, Abu Dhabi
16 September – Bangladesh v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi
18 September – Sri Lanka v Afghanistan, Abu Dhabi
