ACB (Afghanistan Cricket Board) announced a 19-member squad on Tuesday for the Bangladesh ODI series. The Afghan selectors have picked the same squad that played against South Africa in September/October, except for opening batsman Sediqullah Atal and mystery spinner Noor Ahmed.
Sediqullah Atal came in to replace injured Ibrahim Zadran, who is still recovering from the ankle injury. While Noor Ahmed is selected in the place of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who has a sprain in the right hand.
Atal is rewarded for his exceptional performance in the Emerging Teams Asia Cup T20 Tournament; he has played six T20I matches for Afghanistan. Noor made his comeback in the team based on his performances in the Caribbean Premier League, where he was named player of the series for taking the highest number of wickets in the tournament.
“Ibrahim Zadran is currently undergoing rehabilitation and continues to recover from the surgery he recently had. Mujeeb Ur Rahman also remains unavailable due to ongoing treatment.
“However, Noor Ahmad is back in the squad, and we have included a promising top-order batter in Sediqullah Atal, who has impressed everyone with his consistent top performances.” ACB chief selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil said after announcing the squad.
Afghanistan Squad for Bangladesh ODI Series
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran, Farid Ahmad Malik
Afghanistan will play Bangladesh in three ODIs in Sharjah from November 6 to 11, the same ground where Afghanistan etched history by securing a series win over South Africa.
