Rashid Khan is all set for a return to international cricket as Afghanistan have announced their squad for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa on September 12, Thursday. Afghanistan have named a strong squad for the series, which will also see young players Abdul Malik and Darwish Rasooli included for the 3-match series.
Hashmatullah Shahidi will captain Afghanistan in their upcoming historic bilateral ODI series against South Africa, with Rahmat Shah set to assist him as vice-captain.
The team includes seasoned players like Gulbadin Naib and Mohammad Nabi. However, due to injuries to a few prominent players, there is an opportunity for new talent to step in. Ibrahim Zadran has been ruled out with an ankle sprain, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman is still recovering from a right phalanx sprain. This has led to the inclusion of promising young players Abdul Malik, a right-handed top-order batter who has recently made a mark in domestic List A cricket, and Darwish Rasooli, a top-order batsman with experience from seven T20Is.
This ODI series will mark the first time Afghanistan and South Africa face each other outside of ICC tournaments. All three matches are scheduled to be held at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, under the aegis of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).
Their last encounter was at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, where South Africa comfortably defeated Afghanistan in the semi-finals. This was also incidentally Rashid’s last game as he has been on a break since then.
Afghanistan Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.
