Afghanistan has just announced a Preliminary Squad for the Asia Cup 2025, which will also play the Tri-Series where they will face Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. The dates for the Asia Cup 2025 are 9th September to 28th September. Basically, the UAE is the host country as the venue was moved from India.
In the previous edition of the Asia Cup, which happened in 2023, Afghanistan had a tournament to forget. They were in Group B with Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan lost both of their games and were out in the group stage itself. They have never won any Asia Cup title or even reached the final. The maximum they have reached is the Super Fours in 2018 and 2022.
Asia Cup 2025 Afghanistan squad
The Afghanistan Board has announced a total of 22 players in the Preliminary Squad. This is what Mir Mubariz, an official of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, said:
We have announced a preliminary squad for the preparation camp ahead of the tri-nation series and Asia Cup where the newly-included guys will be checked by both the coaching staff and the captain during the training and preparation camp.
Yeah, we will probably go with these 22 players to the upcoming Asia Cup, but there might be changes in case of injury, and we will take care of such issues with the passage of time
Full 22-player squad:
- Batsmen: Sediqullah Atal, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Darwish Rasooli, and Ibrahim Zadran
- Wicketkeepers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mohammad Ishaq
- All-rounders: Rashid Khan (C), Mohammad Nabi, Nangyal Kharoti, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, and Gulbadin Naib
- Bowlers: Mujeeb Zadran, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad Lakanwal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq, Farid Malik, Saleem Safi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, and Bashir Ahmad
The Tri-series will start on 29th August, where they will play their first game against Pakistan. Eventually, the United Arab Emirates is the venue. Afghanistan will play two matches against both Pakistan and the UAE. They can play the fifth match of the series as well, which is the final if they qualify. The final is on 7th September of the Tri-Series.
When we look at their group in the Asia Cup, Afghanistan is placed along with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Hong Kong in Group B. They will play their first match of the Asia Cup 2025 on the first day of the tournament. Their opponents are Hong Kong, and Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi will be the venue. Certainly, this is a good chance for the team to make history by winning their first Asia Cup title.
Rashid Khan Announced as New Captain Of Afghanistan Preliminary Squad
The last couple of games in the T20 format have been tough for Rashid Khan. As they say, Form is Temporary but Class is Permanent, it perfectly suits the Afghanistan Captain Rashid Khan. In the Indian Premier League 2025 season, he didn’t have a great campaign as the batters got the better of him. Rashid also did not play Major League Cricket in the USA. His board has backed him, and why shouldn’t you back a player like Rashid Khan when you know his quality? This is what Mir Mubariz said:
Rashid Khan is Afghanistan’s superstar player. He has always done it for the team. Being in form or out of form, that’s a part of game but he knows very well how to come back stronger and perform in major events for the team and the country
Apart from Rashid, players such as Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran will play an important role in the team. It is still unclear which two players will open the batting, as Sediqullah Atal is the one we can’t forget. They also have some fast bowlers such as Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad, and Salim Safi. All the bowlers mentioned have great speed and can continuously bowl at a speed of more than 138.
