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Rashid Khan Ruled Unfit Again As Afghanistan Announce Squad For Sri Lanka ODIs

image-ls7njbhgAfghanistan players during the 2023 World Cup in India (AP)

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced Afghanistan’s 15-player squad for their upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka. The selection committee finalised the group on February 4, i.e., roughly a week prior to the commencement of the series.

Star-attraction Rashid Khan is set to miss the ODI segment of the tour as he continues to recover from his back injury. Qais Ahmad was drafted into the Afghanistan squad as his replacement instead.

Afghanistan announce squad for ODI series in SL

Afghanistan cricket team is set to make its return to the ODI lore through the upcoming away series against Sri Lanka. Their previous 50-overs international tie occurred back in November 2023 during the ODI Cricket World Cup in India, where they punched above their weights to finish sixth on the 10-team points table.

Hashmatullah Shahidi, who led Afghanistan throughout the tournament, is set to reprise his captaincy role in Sri Lanka alongside deputy Rahmat Shah. Afghanistan’s 15-member squad for the Sri Lanka series features several star attractions in the form of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Ibrahim Zadran.

Rashid Khan, however, has been ruled out of the squad owing to his prolonged recovery from back surgery. In addition to Afghanistan’s 15-player crew, the selection committee also added four reserve players to the team’s travelling setup. Here is a look at Afghanistan’s entire team composition for the bilateral ODI series in Sri Lanka:

AFG Squad for SL ODI Series: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Qais Ahmad, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.


Reserve Players: Sharafuddin Ashraf, Shahidullah Kamal, Abdul Rahman and Bilal Sami.

The ODI series will commence from February 9 onwards and each of the three planned fixtures will be staged at the iconic Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

The 50-overs international segment of the tour will be succeeded by a three-match T20I series in Dambulla. As of now, Afghanistan and hosts Sri Lanka are engaged in their one-off Test battle in Colombo.