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Gurbaz Ruled Out, Mujeeb Rested As Afghanistan Opt To Field In 1st ODI vs Zimbabwe

Abhinav Tyagi

AFGvsZIM- (Source:@AFGmedia/X.com)AFGvsZIM- (Source:@AFGmedia/X.com)

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In the first ODI between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan at the Harare Sports Club, Afghanistan have won the toss and asked Afghanistan to bat first.  It is rain-reduced match and only 28-overs will be bowled in each innings. The match is all set to start at 4:45 pm IST.

The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side have suffered  a massive blow ahead of the ODI series as Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been ruled out of the entire series because of a injury. Gurbaz has suffered a Grade 2B quadriceps injury and a bony hip flexor injury.

Meanwhile, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who recently recovered from an injury, has been rested as the management are not looking to rush him for the series.

For Zimbabwe, they have two debutants. Ben Curran and Newman Nyamhuri are the two stars who will be making their first appearance for Zimbabwe. 

ZIM vs AFG 1st ODI: Playing XIs

Zimbabwe Playing XI : Newman Nyamhuri (wk), Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Craig Ervine (c), Sean Williams, Brian Bennett, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Trevor Wesley Gwandu, Ben Curran

Afghanistan Playing XI: Sediqullah Atal, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Ali Khil (wk), Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Malik, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar

ZIM vs AFG 1st ODI: Captains' Thoughts

Craig Ervine (Zimbabwe Captain): "We would have bowled first as well. Put into bat, we will try to put a decent score on the board. There will be something in it for the bowlers. We need to bat well. Ben Curran and Newman Nyamhuri are making their debut."

Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "We will bowl first because of the overhead conditions. Weather conditions are also suitable, and the wicket is also spicy, so we want to take advantage of the first ten overs."