SL vs Afg: Afghanistan Cricket Board Announces Squad for ODI Series

In order to prepare for the ODI World Cup later this year in India, Sri Lanka will be hosting a 3-match SL vs Afg ODI series. The SL vs Afg series will be more crucial for the hosts as compared to the visitors. While Afghanistan has directly qualified for the ODI World Cup, the current Asia Cup champions, Sri Lanka will have to play qualifiers. The 3-match one day international series will give Sri Lanka a nice space to practice for 2 upcoming multinational tournaments.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced a 15-member squad for the series starting in June. Some of the Afghanistan players are currently participating in the Indian Premier League. Announcing the squad for the SL vs Afg series, the Afghanistan Cricket Board chairman acknowledged that they were trying to build a squad keeping the World Cup in mind.

The build-up for the ICC Cricket World Cup has already begun: Mirwais Ashraf

Hashmatullah Shahidi will be leading the side in the SL vs Afg ODI series. Whereas fast-bowling all-rounder Abdul Rahman can make his debut. “It’s good to have a couple of young faces for the series. The build-up for the ICC Cricket World Cup has already begun, and we are looking for every possible opportunity to build a good combination of the team and prepare them well for the event,” ACB chairman Mirwais Ashraf said.

The last time the two teams faced each other in the SL vs Afg ODI series was right after the T20 World Cup in November 2022. That series ended up in a tie 1-1 with both teams winning one each and the second ODI abandoned. This series will be crucial for the Sri Lankan players in order to gain confidence. Hambantota in Sri Lanka will be hosting all the 3 upcoming games of SL vs Afg ODI between 2 to 7 June.

Afghanistan’s squad for SL vs Afg ODIs:

Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Riaz Hassan, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhail, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Abdul Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi Mujib Ur Rahman, and Farid Ahmad Malik.