Mohammad Nabi's son, Rashid Khan's nephew to open batting for Afghanistan in U19 World Cup

Afghanistan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi's son Hassan Eisakhil and Usman Shinwari, who is Rashid Khan’s nephew, are set to open the batting for their nation in the forthcoming U19 World Cup. The tournament is set to be contested in South Africa, commencing on January 19, Friday.

A total of 16 teams will be fighting for the coveted trophy for 23 days. While talking about Eisakhil's achievement, Nabi expressed his desire to play along with him for the national side.

Afghanistan will kick start their campaign against Pakistan at the Buffalo Park in Eastern Cape on January 20.

When Nabi made his international debut on April 19, 2009, Eisakhil was just three years old. Nabi, who is by far the most capped player for the national side, started his career at the top level with a Player-of-the-Match performance in his first game. Shinwari, who participated in the 2016 U19 World Cup and emerged as the team's top wicket-taker, will take cues from Rashid.

Nabi is currently taking part in the three-match T20I series against India while Rashid is out with an injury. In his absence, Ibrahim Zadran led Afghanistan in matches which were held in Mohali and Indore, respectively. Jamshid Zadran, the cousin of Ibrahim and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, was also a member of Afghanistan's U19 team.

Haydon, the son of wicketkeeper Phil Mustard, will also wear gloves from England during the forthcoming event. Meanwhile, Martin Benkenstein's son Luc has been named as the vice-captain of the side. Like his uncle Joe Denly, Jaydn Denly is expected to open the batting for England at the U19 World Cup. Farhan Ahmed, a 15-year-old off-spinner and the brother of Rehan Ahmed, a player in the 2022 U19 World Cup, will also be available for the English team. 

AFG U19 WC squad: Naseer Khan (c), Numan Shah (vc), Zahid Afghan, Bashir Ahmad, Khalil Ahmad, Faridoon Dawoodzai,, Hassan Eisakhil, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Arab Gul, Ali Ahmad Nasar, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Khalid Taniwal, Jamshid Zadran, Sohail Khan Zurmati, Rahimullah Zurmati, Usman Shinwari