The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced its 22-member preliminary squad for the upcoming ACC T20 Asia Cup 2025 on August 5. Rashid Khan will continue to lead the national side in T20 internationals, despite some concerns about his recent form after missing the 2025 edition of Major League Cricket (MLC).
“Rashid Khan is Afghanistan’s superstar player. He has always done it for the team. Being in form or out of form, that’s a part of game but he knows very well how to come back stronger and perform in major events for the team and the country,” said Mir Mubariz, a member of ACB’s selection committee, in a conversation with Cricbuzz.
According to Mubariz, a two-week preparation camp will take place before the squad heads to the UAE for a tri-nation series involving Pakistan and the host nation. This series will serve as preparation for the Asia Cup. He outlined the squad’s strengths, particularly their spin department, and spoke about the new faces included in the camp.
“The whole world knows Afghanistan has got the best spin unit, with the likes of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb, Mohammad Nabi, and Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar. We have also added Nangyal Kharoti and Sharafuddin Ashraf, particularly Sharafuddin Ashraf, who has been doing great in domestic cricket for the last few years and was the Player of the Tournament in the Shpageeza 2025,” he said.
Mubariz also highlighted some of the new additions to the squad. “We have added a number of new guys such as top-order batter Wafiullah Tarakhil who was great in domestic events and was part of our A team too. Two pacers Abdullah Ahmadzai who is part of the preparation camp for the first time and Bashir Ahmad who have played with our A team. They are the future of Afghanistan. After the tri-nation series and the camps, the coach, captain, and the selection committee will all decide together whom to go with for the Asia Cup,” he explained.
Afghanistan is scheduled to play the tournament’s opening match on September 9 against Hong Kong at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. They are placed in Group B alongside Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The team was phenomenal in T20 World Cup 2024 reaching semi-finals where they were thrashed by South Africa.
Afghanistan’s 22-member preliminary squad:
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Ishaq, Rashid Khan (c), Mohammad Nabi, Nangyal Kharoti, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Zadran, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq, Farid Malik, Saleem Safi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad.