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Rashid Khan During Toss - (Source : @Johns/X.com)
The seventeenth edition of Asia Cup is finally underway as Afghanistan and Hong Kong are all set to play the first match of the tournament at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The news from the centre is that Rashid Khan-led Afghanistan have won the toss and elected to bat first, asking Hong Kong to field first.
For Afghanistan, Gulbadin Naib is back into the playing XI and they have made just one change from the team which played the tri-series final vs Pakistan.
Asia Cup 2025: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Playing XI
Hong Kong Playing XI : Yasim Murtaza (c), Zeeshan Ali (wk), Nizakat Khan, Anshuman Rath, Babar Hayat, Ehsan Khan, Kalhan Marc Challu, Ayush Shukla, Aizaz Khan, Ateeq Iqbal, Kinchit Shah
Afghanistan Playing XI : Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Noor Ahmad, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Asia Cup 2025: Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Captains' Thoughts
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan Captain): "We are going to bat first. It looks a good wicket to bat on and we will look to post a good total on the board. It's not about the spinners. In T20s, it doesn't matter much. You have to give yourselves the best chance. Bat first, put runs on the board and build the pressure with the spinners."
Yasim Murtaza (Hong Kong Captain): "To be honest, we wanted to bowl first. They opted to bat first so we don't mind bowling first here. Well, to get here we had a tough battle against Oman. We played really good cricket over there and that's why we qualified for this tournament. Basically as a captain, I am looking forward to how Kalhan Challu performs. He is a really talented player and I am looking forward to how he performs in a big stage."
