Afghanistan is set to host Pakistan in a three-match ODI series at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Stadium in Sri Lanka. The schedule for the series is yet to be announced but it is likely to take place from September 1 to 5. Afghanistan had earlier announced the squad for the bilateral tie against Pakistan and the selectors made as many as eight changes in the side.
Sediq Atal, Shahidullah Kamal, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Abdul Rahman are the uncapped players in the side that comprises 17 members. Apart from this, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat and Ikram Alikhal are back in the side after they were not included in the series against Ireland.
Some of the prominent names like Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib, Javed Ahmadi, Usman Ghani, Yamin Ahmadzai and Sayed Shirzad have missed the bus and won’t be a part of the ODIs series.
On the other hand, Pakistan suffered a 2-1 defeat in the three-match ODI series against England away from home and will now play West Indies in a five-match T20I series and a two-match Test series in away fixtures. The T20Is begin on Tuesday (July 27, 2021).
Afghanistan squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Sediq Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najib Zadran, Ikram Alikhal, Shahid Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmat Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Naveen Ul Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Noor Ahmad