Afghanistan set for Lord’s debut, announce squad for MCC clash

Afghanistan are set to play at the Lord’s stadium for the first time on July 13. They will be lined up against an MCC side which will be led by charismatic former Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum and will also consist of yesteryear stars Kumar Sangakkara, Younis Khan, Misbah Ul-Haq and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

This will be the second consecutive time that MCC will host an upcoming cricketing nation after Nepal stunned the MCC side last season. Afghanistan are no longer associates as they were awarded full membership by ICC last week and will relish the opportunity of playing at the ‘Mecca of Cricket.’ Their squad will be captained by Asghar Stanikzai and consists of stars like Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Samiullah Shinwari and Dawlat Zardan. Nabi has previously been to the Lord’s when he was involved in the MCC Young cricketers program a few years ago. It will be a happy second coming for the 32-year old, who recently became the first Afghani to bag an IPL contract alongside rookie Rashid Khan.

Rubbing shoulders with the greats of the game will be a great learning curve for the Afghan players. Since making their international debut in 2009, Afghanistan has leapfrogged to become a Test nation within 8 years of making their debut. They are known to be passionate about the game which has helped them in achieving great heights without much infrastructure back home.

Playing at the Lord’s stadium is a dream for many cricketers and Afghanistan players will realise it in two weeks time. This 50-over game will be played at the same pitch which will be used for the 1st Test between England and South Africa, which will end a day before this fixture.

Afghanistan’s Squad

Asghar Stanikzai (Captain), Noor Ali Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Javed Ahmadi, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Afsar Zazai, Nasir Jamal and Farid Ahmad Malik.

MCC Squad

Brendon McCullum (C) (New Zealand), Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), Younis Khan (Pakistan), Misbah-Ul-Haq (Pakistan), Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies), Samit Patel (England), Chris Read (England), George Dockrell (Ireland), Chris Rushworth (England), Stuart Meaker (England) and Tim Murtagh (Ireland).