Afghanistan announce preliminary squad for Tri-series and Asia Cup 2025

Afghanistan has named their 22-member preliminary squad for the upcoming tri-series against Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates, along with the upcoming Asia Cup 2025. Rashid Khan will lead the side in the presence of the veteran white-ball stars, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammed Nabi, and others, as they reached the semifinal of the last Men’s T20 World Cup 2024.

Rashid didn’t have a great time in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Gujarat Titans before deciding not to take part in the MLC 2025. In IPL, he picked up only nine wickets at an economy rate of 9.34. Mir Mubariz, the ACB’s selection committee member, reckoned that they would hold a two-week preparation camp before the Tri-series.

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‘Rashid Khan is Afghanistan's superstar player. He has always done it for the team. Being in form or out of form, that's a part of the game, but he knows very well how to come back stronger and perform in major events for the team and the country.’ Mubariz stated, as quoted by Cricbuzz, while he indicated potential changes due to injuries.

Afghanistan name preliminary squad for tri-series and Asia Cup 2025

‘The whole world knows Afghanistan has got the best spin unit, with the likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb, Mohammad Nabi, and Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar. We have also added Namgyal Kharoti and Sharafuddin Ashraf, particularly Sharafuddin Ashraf, who has been doing great in domestic cricket for the last few years and was the Player of the Tournament in the Shpageeza 2025.’ Mubariz explained.

He also shed light on the fact that their captain and coach would decide the opening pair, where they have three candidates- Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Sediqullah Atala, and Ibrahim Zadran for the two spots. They will start their Asia Cup campaign on September 09 against Hong Kong in Abu Dhabi before they face Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan’s preliminary squad for tri-series and Asia Cup

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Ishaq, Rashid Khan (C), Mohammad Nabi, Nangyal Kharoti, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Zadran, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq, Farid Malik, Saleem Safi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad.