The Afghanistan Cricket Board has confirmed the squad that will represent the country at the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026. The youth tournament will be played in Zimbabwe and Namibia and is seen as an important step in developing future national players.

The World Cup will begin on January 15 and run until February 6. This will be the 16th edition of the tournament, with top under-19 teams from around the world taking part. Australia will start as defending champions after winning the 2024 title.

Afghanistan qualified for the event by winning the Asia Qualifier last year. The team finished ahead of Nepal on net run rate, showing strong and consistent performances throughout the qualification phase.

Mahboob Khan to lead Afghanistan’s U19 World Cup challenge

Mahboob Khan has been named captain of the Afghanistan Under-19 side. He will lead a young squad selected after domestic age-group tournaments and training camps held by the board.

Afghanistan will begin their group-stage campaign on January 16 against South Africa in Windhoek. They will then face West Indies on January 18 and Tanzania on January 21, with all group matches scheduled to be played in Namibia.

See Also: 'We Will Show It' - Mohsin Naqvi on PCB running Multan Sultans after Ali Tareen's exit

The batting unit will heavily depend upon Uzairullah Niazai, who has been in good form in recent months. He scored runs during the Bangladesh tour and also impressed during the Under-19 Asia Cup. The presence of batters like Khalid Ahmadzai, Osman Sadat and Aziz Mia Khil adds depth to the lineup. Afghanistan also carries a solid bowling group, and especially with spin expected to play an important role once again. Nooristani Ormazi is one to watch out for, while Zaitullah Shaheen, Hafieez Zadran, and Wahidullah Zadran add much strength to the spin attack. The squad also has quite a few all-round options to bring about balance.

Afghanistan squad for ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026

Mahboob Khan (c), Khalid Ahmadzai, Osman Sadat, Faisal Khan, Uzairullah Niazai, Aziz Mia Khil, Nazif Amiri, Khatir Stanikzai, Nasrat Nooristani, Abdul Aziz, Salam Khan, Wahidullah Zadran, Zaitullah Shaheen, Rohullah Arab, Hafieez Zadran.

Reserves: Aqil Khan, Fahim Qasemi, Izat Noor.