Afghanistan have announced a 17-member squad for the 2023 Asia Cup to be held in Pakistan and Sri Lanka between August 30 and September 17, 2023.
Hashmatullah Shahidi is set to captain the side in the tournament, which precedes the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, set to begin eighteen days after the Asia Cup final. Gulbadin Naib, who replaced the injured Azmatullah Omarzai in the last ODI against Pakistan, retains his place in the side, whereas Omarzai has been left out. Fareed Ahmed Malik and Shahidullah Kamal were also axed from the Asia Cup squad after Afghanistan faced a 0-3 drubbing in the hands of Pakistan in the recently-concluded three-match ODI series.
Karim Janat, who last played an ODI for Afghanistan 6 years ago (February 2017 vs Zimbabwe) has been recalled to the side. Sharafuddin Ashraf also makes a comeback into the side for the first time since January 2022, whereas Wafadar Momand failed to make the cut.
Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Suliman Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
