The legspinner Rashid Khan who missed Ireland ODIs will be returning to the Afghanistan squad for South Africa ODIs which is scheduled to be played between 18 and 22.
Afghanistan will be missing the services of the top order batter Ibrahim Zadran who has sustained an ankle series in his left leg and will also miss the expertise of spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is yet to fully recover from a right Phalanx sprain.
Right-handed batter Abdul Malik who had a brilliant domestic List A competition, has been called up to replace the injured Ibrahim Zadran. Darwish Rasooli who played seven T20Is has been called up for the ODI squad.
Happy with our Squad for the @ProteasMenCSA ODIs? 🏏
🔗: https://t.co/J6TIZnLWIT#AfghanAtalan | #AFGvSA | #GloriousNationVictoriousTeam pic.twitter.com/rFBh6Et27l
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) September 12, 2024
Rashid underwent back surgery after last year’s World Cup and was out of action for months where he entirely missed the series against UAE, India, and Sri Lanka.
He also withdraws from BBL, PSL, and SA20 before finally returning to action in the Ireland T20I this March. Since his return, he has played in T20s only, following up his comeback series with the IPL, T20 World Cup, MLC, the Hundred, and the Shapageeza Cricket League, Afghanistan’s domestic T20 competition.
The rest of the squad will be the previous squad that played Ireland ODIs. “Hosting South Africa for the first time in our cricketing history is a huge milestone for Afghanistan Cricket,” ACB CEO Mr. Naseeb Khan said.
“They are a top-quality side, and playing against them in an ODI series is something we are all excited about.
“Our team has shown great performances in ICC events over the past two or three years, and we are focused on making our team equally competitive in bilateral cricket.”
This will be the first meeting between the countries outside of ICC tournaments with all three games set to be hosted by ACB at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Afghanistan squad for South Africa ODIs
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran, Fareed Ahmad
