T20 World Cup 2022: 5 players miss out as Afghanistan announce squad for World Cup

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T20 World Cup 2022: Afghanistan on Thursday announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. The squad will be led by all-rounder Mohammad Nabi with Najibullah Zadran being his deputy. 

The squad has omitted five players from the squad that represented Afghanistan in the Asia Cup 2022, while there have been new inclusions to the team. Samiullah Shinwari, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat and Noor Ahmad are the players to miss out on the final cut. Whereas, middle-order batter Darwish Rasooli, leg-spinning allrounder Qais Ahmad and right-arm fast bowler Salim Safi have been included. The team also has four reserve players- Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rahmat Shah and Gulbadin Naib.

Darwish Rasooli, who played well in the Shpageeza Cricket League 2022 has been called up after he successfully recovered from his broken finger injury. Looking at the bowling conditions of Australia, the team has several fast bowlers, including the inclusion of Salim Safi. 

"The Asia Cup 2022 was a very good opportunity for the team to build up the things well for the much-important global tournament in Australia. Fortunately, Darwish Rasooli has recovered from his broken finger injury and we are happy to have him available for the WT20. He has demonstrated good signs of him in the previously held Shpageeza Cricket League 2022 and offers an additional batting option to our middle order. Overall we have picked our best available players for the marquee tournament and we are hopeful of them to do well and better represent the nation in the World Cup," Chief selector Noor Malikzai said.

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Afghanistan is in Group 1 of the Super 12 alongside defending champions Australia, 2021 finalists New Zealand and 2010 champion England. They will be accompanied by two qualifiers in their group. Afghanistan will lock horns against England in their first outing of the Super 12 on October 22. 

The World Cup begins on October 16 with round 1 encounters, while the Super 12 stage will be kicked off on October 22. The final will be played on 13 November.

Here's the squad: 

Mohammad Nabi (C), Najibullah Zadran (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujib ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi and Usman Ghani. Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rahmat Shah and Gulbadin Naib are the four players, who are part of the team as reserves.