Kabul, Sep 12: After their rain-marred one-off Test against New Zealand at Greater Noida, which would be over on Friday, Afghanistan will be facing South Africa in a three-match ODI series in Sharjah. The Asian side will host the Proteas for the three 50-over games.
Hashmatullah Shahidi has been named the captain of the 17-member squad, while Rahmat Shah has been named his deputy.
However, the Afghans will miss two of their stand-out performers in recent times - Ibrahim Zadran and Mujeeb ur Rahman. But they will be joined by their superstar leggie Rashid Khan, who missed the last ODI series against Ireland.
Ibrahim Zadran, who is out with an ankle injury, has been the game-changer for the Afghans in the white-ball games. His devastating performance with the willow at top of the order as an aggressive opener often sets the game for Afghanistan. Ibrahim also contributes with his right-arm medium fast spells and is an agile fielder.
On the contrary, off-spinner Mujeeb continues to be on the sidelines, having failed to recover from a right phalanx sprain, informed Afghanistan Cricket Board ACB chief selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil on Thursday.
In opener Ibrahim's absence, Afghanistan selectors picked consistent domestic performer and young top order batsman Abdul Malik. There was also a recall for Darwish Rasooli, who played seven T20Is earlier.
To balance the spin department, right-arm turner Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar was included in the squad in Mujeeb's absence.
Afghanistan squad:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Captain), Rahmat Shah (Vice Captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicket-keeper), Ikram Alikhil (wicket-keeper), 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.
