World Cup 2019: Afghanistan announce 15-man squad

The Afghanistan selectors have named their 15-man squad for the upcoming 2019 World Cup in England which will be led by new skipper Gulbadin Naib. The squad has some household names in their ranks with great expectations on the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman as Afghanistan will head into the tournament as the firm underdogs.

Pacer Hamid Hassan has also been called back to the squad after an absence of almost three years. There have also been some big name exclusions with the likes of Zahir Khan, Shapoor Zadran and Javed Ahmadi excluded from the squad. Ikram Alikhil, Karim Janat and Sayed Shirzad have been named as the reserve players for the tournament.

Thoughts on the Afghanistan #CWC19 squad? 🇦🇫 🏆 pic.twitter.com/bvYPeAj4x8

— Cricket World Cup (@cricketworldcup) April 22, 2019

Asghar Afghan who was recently sacked as the skipper by the selectors which led to much public criticism from some senior players has retained his place in the 15-man squad.

Though not expected to be one of the frontrunners for the tournament, Afghanistan do have some dangerous players in their squad with the likes of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Dawlat Zadran and Mohammad Shahzad capable of inflicting some serious damage on the opposition.

Dawlat Khan Ahmadzai, the chief selector said on the squad”

“As chief selector, It is my duty to select a competitive team. However, there were some challenges that we needed to handle. We selected the best squad considering factors such as experience, fitness, team balance, current form and conditions. We hope to play great cricket without any fear and with a fighting spirit in the tournament.”

Afghanistan will begin their World Cup campaign against the mighty Australians on June 1 in Bristol. Before the commencement of the tournament, they will play a couple of warm-up matches against Pakistan and hosts England.

Squad: Gulbadin Naib (C), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman.