Hashmathullah Shahidi will lead a 15-member strong Afghanistan squad for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
The side also features international stars like Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who have experience playing around the world.
Naveen-ul-Haq, who has been out of action from the ODI set up for a while, has made a comeback and has been included in the squad.
The pacer was in the news for all the wrong reasons after his run-ins with Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 and it would be interesting to see how he shapes up for the World Cup.
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The squad is a fine blend of youth and experienced players. The biggest strength of Afghanistan is their spin bowling with the likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmed mixing it up.
Fazalhaq Farooqi will be the pace spearhead as far as Afghanistan is concerned and with the inclusion of Naveen-ul-Haq, there is more sting in their attack.
Gulbadin Naib, who had a decent Asia Cup outing, has been left out of the squad despite his good all-round skills. Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz will be the Afghan openers with Rahmat Shah, skipper Shahidi and Najibullah Zadran forming their core.
Mohammad Nabi's skills with the bat and ball are fairly well established and the supremely talented Rashid Khan will provide them with further edge to the attack.
Afghanistan squad:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Rahmat Shah, Riaz Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Noor Ahmed, Mujib Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq
