Afghanistan seem set on providing plenty of game time to their players as an almost Asia Cup-like squad gears up to face UAE and Pakistan in the Tri-series ahead of the tournament. Naveen-ul-Haq is the only difference between the squads for the two competitions and will be replaced by uncapped pacer Abdollah Ahmadzai in the 17-member squad.
Ahmadzai, who made his T20 debut in August last year, was earlier named in Afghanistan’s reserves for the Asia Cup. He has 14 wickets in his 10-match T20 career and could get his debut international cap in the Tri-series.
Captain Rashid Khan, whose stint with the Oval Invincibles in the Hundred was cut short for national duty, will lead a spin-heavy bowling attack that includes Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, and Mohammad Nabi.
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 in the IPL this year as well but was sidelined due to injury. Ghazanfar comes in for Nangeyalia Kharote, who isn’t part of the Tri-series but will join Ahmadzai and Wafiullah Tarakhil as reserves in the Asia Cup.
The batting lineup is bolstered by the return of Ibrahim Zadran, who is likely to open with Rahmanullah Gurbaz in both the Tri-series and the Asia Cup. Zadran has only played one fixture since his 177-run knock against England in Lahore during the Champions Trophy. Afghanistan will bank on the opening duo to get them off to a flying start in both competitions.
In addition to the squad, Afghanistan have made changes to the support staff as well. Ireland all-rounder John Mooney has been brought back as fielding coach, while Nirmalan Thanabalasingam has been appointed as the new physiotherapist. This is Mooney’s second stint with Afghanistan, having earlier served the team in the same capacity from 2018 to 2019.
Before being roped in by the Asian side, Mooney-best known for hitting the winning runs in Ireland’s historic win against England in the 2011 ODI World Cup-was temporarily coaching Ireland’s women’s team.
Thanabalasingam, meanwhile, has worked as physiotherapist for several franchise teams, including Desert Vipers (ILT20), Rangpur Riders (BPL), Montreal Tigers (GT20 Canada), and Sydney Thunder (BBL). He also served as high-performance training and rehabilitation manager for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) from early 2017 to June 2018.
Afghanistan’s first game of the series will be against Pakistan on Friday in Sharjah. All three teams will face each other in a round-robin format, with the series concluding in a final on September 7. Currently, Afghanistan are undergoing a training camp in Abu Dhabi.
Afghanistan squad for UAE Tri-series
Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad, Abdollah Ahmadzai, Fazalhaq Farooqi
