Asia Cup 2018: ACB announces the 17-man Afghanistan squad for the tournament

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced the 17-man squad for the upcoming Asia cup which will start from September 15. Asgar Afghan, previously Asghar Stanikzai, will continue to lead the side while Mohammad Shahzad will take over the wicketkeeping duties. The selectors might have taken the performances in the recent Ireland series in the account which they won by 2-1.

Munir Ahmad Kakar will be the backup wicketkeeper for Shahzad even as Ihsanullah Janat can also handle the responsibility behind the stumps. Dawlat Zadran, who was the part of Ireland series, has been dropped and is replaced by Sharafudin Ashraf. The rest of the line-up looks the same. The main aim for the Afghanistan team would be to improve their batting which struggled in testing conditions.

Strong bowling attack

Afghanistan side is more often than not dependent on their bowlers, rather spinners. Rashid Khan leads the way for them and is followed by the likes of Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi. Even the pacers Aftab Alam, Ashraf and Wafadar are tried and tested resources.

As far as the batting line-up is concerned, a lot will depend on Rahmat Shah who is being tipped as the future star and the captain Asghar. Also, the likes of Shahzad, Janat and Nabi will be expected to chip in with crucial runs. Najibullah Zadran is their finisher and should also hold one end in case the wickets fall early.

They have got a tough draw in the Asia Cup as they will be facing Sri Lanka and Bangladesh with only two teams going into the super four stage. Their first match will be against the Islanders on September 17 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi after which Bangladesh will face them three days later.

Here’s Afghanistan’s squad:

Asghar Afghan (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmat Shah, Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Aftab Alam, Samiullah Shinwari, Munir Ahmad Kakar (wk), Sayed Ahmad Sherzad, Sharafudin Ashraf, Wafadar Momand

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