Rashid Khan To Captain Afghanistan As ACB Announce Preliminary Squad For Asia Cup
In the 2025 edition of the Asia Cup, Afghanistan will open their campaign on September 9 against Hong Kong at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board on Wednesday (August 6) announced the preliminary squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series featuring Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates and the Asia Cup 2025. Legendary spinner Rashid Khan has been retained as the captain, and the squad also includes the likes of Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq, Karim Janat, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
According to the release shared by ACB, 'The 22-member preliminary squad will feature in a two-week training and preparation camp ahead of their upcoming Tri-Nation Series and the ACC Men's T20 Asia Cup."
ACB Names Preliminary Squad for Preparation Camp in UAEAfghanistan Cricket Board's National Selection Committee has finalized a 22-member preliminary squad that will feature in a two-week training and preparation camp ahead of their upcoming Tri-Nation Series and the ACC Men's… pic.twitter.com/kkZEML1Zqs
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 4, 2025
'We have announced a preliminary squad for the preparation camp ahead of the tri-nation series and Asia Cup where the newly-included guys will be checked by both the coaching staff and the captain during the training and preparation camp," Mir Mubariz, ACB's selection committee member told Cricbuzz.
'Yeah, we will probably go with these 22 players to the upcoming Asia Cup, but there might be changes in case of injury, and we will take care of such issues with the passage of time," he added.
In the Asia Cup 2025, which is set to be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28, Afghanistan will open their campaign on September 9 against Hong Kong at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Their next Group B match is also scheduled to take place at the same venue on September 16 against Bangladesh, and in the last group fixture, Afghanistan will line up against Sri Lanka on September 18 in Abu Dhabi.
In the last edition of the Asia Cup, which was played in Sri Lanka in 2023, Afghanistan failed to qualify for the Super Fours, but under Rashid Khan's leadership, there will be high expectations from the Afghanistani players this time around.
In the last multination T20I tournament (T20 World Cup 2024), Afghanistan stunned everyone by qualifying for the semifinals. However in the semifinal match, they failed to get the better of the Aiden Markram-led South African team.
Afghanistan preliminary squad: Rashid Khan (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Nangyal Kharoti, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Zadran, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq, Farid Malik, Saleem Safi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad.
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First Published:
August 06, 2025, 17:37 IST
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