Zubaid Akbari receives maiden call-up as Afghanistan announce ODI, T20I squad for Zimbabwe tour
Dec 01, 2024
New Delhi [India], December 1 : Young left-hand batter Zubaid Akbari received maiden call-up as the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the squad for the upcoming ODI and T20I series against Zimbabwe on Sunday.
Darwish Rasooli returned to the T20I side following an impressive domestic season, having led Afghanistan to the title at the Emerging Asia Cup.
Star spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman too is back after recovering from a phalanx sprain and will feature in both formats.
Star opener Ibrahim Zadran, however, remained unavailable as he continues his recovery from ankle surgery.
ACB CEO Naseeb Khan expressed confidence, saying "Afghanistan have a strong history in Zimbabwe, and we look forward to another memorable tour. The selected players are ready for the challenge."
Interim Chief Selector Ahmad Shah praised the squad's depth and expressed his confidence. "Mujeeb's return is vital. Zubaid Akbari and Darwish Rasooli have earned their spots and we wish them success," said Ahmad.
Afghanistan's last white-ball series saw them clinch the ODI series by a 2-1 margin against Bangladesh in Sharjah.
Fixtures:
1st T20I - Wednesday, December 11.
2nd T20I - Friday, December 13.
3rd T20I - Saturday, December 14.
1st ODI - Tuesday, December 17.
2nd ODI - Thursday, December 19.
3rd ODI - Saturday, December 21.
1st Test - December 26 to December 30.
2nd Test - January 2 to January 6.
T20I Squad: Rashid Khan (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Ishaq, Sediqullah Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Darwish Rasooli, Zubaid Akbari, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq.
ODI Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran, Farid Ahmad Malik.
