The Afghanistan Cricket Board on Sunday announced its team's squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2023. All-rounder Karim Janat makes a return to the team after a gap of six years, while Najibullah Zadran has also made a comeback after an injury break. The team has been placed in Group B for the regional competition.
Hashmatullah Shahidi will be leading the 17-member team. Janat, who makes a return after a long gap, has been kept as a reserve along with Gulbadin Naib and Sharafuddin Ashraf. There are some more changes seen in the team from the players that took on Pakistan in a recently concluded ODI series.
Sharafuddin Ashraf has been added to the squad while there are some omissions too. Bowlers Fareed Ahmad and Wafadar Momand have been left out of the squad. Notably, Azmatullah Omarzai is ruled out of the competition due to a side strain. Shahidullah Kamal, who replaced Zadran in the Pakistan series, is also out of the team.
Janat has made his way back into the team after six years. He made his debut in 2017 and played only one ODI for his national side. Janat has scored 1664 runs in 42 List A matches and also has 47 wickets to his name.
Afghanistan are placed in Group B alongside Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. They will kickstart their campaign against Bangladesh on September 3.
Afghanistan team for Asia Cup:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Fazal Haq Farooqi.
