dubai
Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi and allrounders Gulbadin Naib and Karim Janat have been left out of Afghanistan’s squads for the upcoming white-ball series against Bangladesh in the UAE. Bashir Ahmad, the tall left-arm seamer, has made both the white-ball squads as a like-for-like replacement for Farooqi. Bashir, 20, is uncapped in international cricket and has 14 T20s so far, taking 12 wickets at an economy rate of 9.06. Top-order batter Wafiullah Tarakhil is the other new face–the 18-year-old has been picked only for the T20Is. In the recent Shpageeza Cricket League, Tarakhil emerged as the third-highest scorer, with 298 runs in nine innings at an average of 37.25 and strike rate of 155.20.
Seamer Abdullah Ahmadzai, meanwhile returned to the main T20I side. Both Ahmadzai and Tarakhil were among the reserves for the Asia Cup, where Afghanistan failed to make it out of the league phase.
Mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar is part of the main ODI side, but has been named as a reserve player for the T20Is along with batter Rahmat Shah.
“After a long six-month break from international cricket following the ICC Champions Trophy, we are now entering a packed season with many T20I games scheduled,” ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said in a statement. “This provides the team with an incredible opportunity to prepare for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next year.
