Selectors of ACB are backing a young and inexperienced group of boys for the super league fixtures against Pakistan. The series consists of 3 ODIs & is slated to be played in the first week of September. However the venue is still undecided. It is being reported that the cricket boards of UAE, Oman & Zimbabwe have rejected the proposal of ACB to host this series. As a result, the fortune of this bilateral hangs in a state of limbo.
The reason of disapproval is obviously very understandable as BCCI have booked all the three venues of UAE for IPL. Oman is also going to host a WCL-2 tri-series involving Nepal & the USA during the same window. Furthermore Zimbabwe was unwilling to take the risk of hosting a neutral series amidst the rising cases of covid. All these factors have propelled ACB to propose the Sri Lankan cricket board to host this series.
Selectors have rested Asghar & Gulbadin due to issues of fitness & form
The announcement regarding the squad came in as an overwhelming surprise for many. Most of them are pleased to see such a young team probably for the first time. Although there is a segment which believes that lack of experience will act as a roadblock to success in the upcoming series. Those are upset mainly because Asghar & Gulbadin have been rested due to issues of fitness and form.
There are a handful of uncapped players in the squad who doesn’t have any regular experience of playing the 50 over format. Lack of international fixtures can also act as a barrier in developing a balanced squad before this series.
The composition of the team looks good with ample of experience in the middle & lower order
Although the team has lot of experience at the top & middle order but it needs to be seen how the openers perform. It could either be Ibrahim or Atal accompanying Gurbaz at the top. If the think tank decides to go with two regular seamers then we could see Farooqi making his ODI debut partnering with Naveen.
Since Gulbadin is rested, we might see Karim Janat doing an allrounder’s job. So, a majority of newcomers could still be on the sidelines for most part of the series. However it may still act as a great learning experience for them going ahead in their careers.
Afghanistan Squad
Hashmatullah Shahidi (Capt), Rahmat Shah (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Wk), Ikram Alikhail (Wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediq Atal, Najib Zadran, Shahid Kamal, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Abdul Rahman, Mohd Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Reserves: Qais Ahmad, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Saleem Safi, Yousuf Zazai