Asia Cup 2023: Afghanistan include Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf in 17-man squad

Afghanistan on Sunday announced their 17-man squad for the upcoming Asia Cup with all-rounders Karim Janat and Sharafuddin Ashraf making their return to the ODI team. The Afghans announced their squad after the conclusion of the three-match ODI series against Pakistan in Sri Lanka, in which they ended up suffering a clean sweep with a 59-run defeat on Saturday. Left-arm spinner Ashraf, who has not represented Afghanistan across formats for more than a year now, last featured in an ODI during a three-match series against Netherlands in January last year. Seam-bowling all-rounder Janat, on the other hand, made his only ODI appearance against Zimbabwe in February 2017, and has not featured in the format in the six-and-a-half years that have passed since. Janat also has a solitary appearance to his credit in Tests, having made his debut against Bangladesh in June, but is fairly experienced in T20Is where he has made 49 appearances and has scored 508 runs and taken 37 wickets. As for the side that faced Pakistan in the three ODIs in Sri Lanka, Wafadar Momand and Azmatullah Omarzai are the two players who were left out of the Asia Cup squad. Shahidi continues to lead the side and is an integral member of the Afghan middle order along with veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi and Ikram Alikhil. Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah form the top three with Gurbaz and Zadran opening the innings.

Here’s AfghanAtalan’s lineup for the ACC Men’s Asia Cup 2023. 🤩#AfghanAtalan | #AsiaCup2023 pic.twitter.com/kHHmR2GhxO

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) August 27, 2023

As for the bowling combination, star all-rounder Rashid Khan leads the spin unit that comprises Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman and Noor Ahmad as well as Nabi, while left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi leads the pace unit and will be assisted by the likes of Abdul Rahman, Fareed Ahmad and all-rounder Gulbadin Naib. Additionally, Najibullah Zadran, who missed the Pakistan ODIs due to a knee injury, has been included in the lineup and is expected to recover from the injury prior to the start of the event. Shahidullah Kamal, who had replaced him in the series, has been left out of the Asia Cup squad. Afghanistan were bundled out for a paltry 59 in the first ODI against Pakistan, suffering a 142-run defeat in the process. The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side would then concede the series in the subsequent encounter despite making a strong comeback, losing a high-scoring thriller by just one wicket despite opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz’s defiant 151. Pakistan then rode on half-centuries from Babar Azam (60) and Mohammad Rizwan (67) as well as a three-for from Shadab Khan (3/42) to inflict a 59-run defeat on the Afghans and complete a 3-0 sweep. Shahidi and Co are placed in Group B of the 2023 Asia Cup, which returns to the ODI format after switching to T20I last year, alongside Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. They begin their campaign against Bangladesh on 3 September at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium and take on defending champions Sri Lanka two days later at the same venue. Afghanistan made their Asia Cup debut in the 2014 edition in Bangladesh, where they were eliminated in the Group Stage, and would also feature in the 2018 and 2022 editions, reaching the Super Four stage on both occasions. Afghanistan had topped Group B in last year’s tournament, thrashing eventual winners Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by eight and seven wickets respectively. They would however, end up losing all three matches in the Super Fours, including a one-wicket loss in a last-ball thriller against Pakistan that eliminated both them as well as India. Afghanistan squad for Asia Cup: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rashid Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Abdul Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Fazalhaq Farooqi