Afghanistan have included a host of slow-bowling options on naming their squad for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board named their selection on Thursday, 9 September, with the tournament a little over a month away.
Star man Rashid Khan will spearhead the attack, and has been joined by fellow all-rounders Mohammad Nabi and Sharafuddin Ashraf in the squad.
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Front-line spinners Qais Ahmad and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are also included in the Afghanistan roster for the tournament.
Afghanistan National Cricket Team Squad for the World T20 Cup 2021. pic.twitter.com/exlMQ10EQx
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) September 9, 2021
Afghanistan will get their tournament underway in Sharjah on 25 October against the winners of Group B from the tournament’s first round – one of Bangladesh, Oman, Papua New Guinea or Scotland.
Khan and company will also be joined in Group 2 by India, New Zealand and Pakistan, plus the runners-up from the other qualifying pool (either Ireland, Namibia, Netherlands or Sri Lanka).
Afghanistan have won three men’s T20 internationals in their history against the full members of the tournament’s Super 12, out of a total of 14 fixtures. All three of those victories came against the West Indies.
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Just minutes after the squad announcement, Khan stepped down as Afghanistan captain, citing a lack of involvement in the squad selection.
“The selection committee and ACB (Afghanistan Cricket Board) has not obtained my consent for the team which has been announced by ACB media,” he said.
“As the captain and responsible person for the nation I reserve the right to be part of the selection of the team.
“I am taking the decision of stepping down from the role as the captain of Afghanistan T20 side effective immediately.”
Squad: Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Shahzad, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Naveen ul Haq, Hamid Hassan, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Dawlat Zadran, Shapoor Zadran, Qais Ahmed
Reserves: Afsar Zazai, Farid Ahmed Malik
