Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Wednesday announced a 17-member squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2022, which will be played from August 27 to September 11 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). From the 16 players who are part of the Afghanistan Squad for the ongoing Ireland T20I Series, Samiullah Shinwari has replaced Sharafuddin Ashraf, who is now part of the reserve players for the event, along with Qais Ahmad and Nijat Masoud. In addition, the left-arm wrist-spinner Noor Ahmad, who was replaced by Mujeeb Ur Rahman for the Ireland series, has also found his way to the side.

Chief selector Noor Malikzai said in a statement: “The Asia Cup is an important event for us and, as such, we have picked our best available players for the event. Samiullah Shinwari has been added to the side for the Asia Cup. He is in very good form and can give further impetus to the batting department, which already boasts Ibrahim Zadran, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi. Shinwari has not played any international match since March 2020, but he has done well in the recently held Shpageeza Cricket League 2022 and demonstrated that he is a good option to strengthen our middle order.”

The Afghanistan National Team is currently in Ireland for a 5-match T20I series against Ireland. The team will depart for UAE for the Asia Cup after Wednesday’s series decider against Ireland.

Coming to the Asia Cup, the 15th edition of the tournament will be played in the UAE between six teams (main event). Defending champions India are also the most successful team, having won the trophy seven times. While the last edition of the tournament was held in an ODI format, this edition will feature the T20 format.

The six teams are divided into two groups with India, Pakistan and a qualifying team in Group A; and Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan form Group B. Each team plays the other once in the group stage with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Super 4 round. The top 2 teams from Super 4 will qualify for the final.

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Afghanistan Squad for ACC T20 Asia Cup – Mohammad Nabi (C), Najibullah Zadran (VC), Afsar Zazai (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Mujib ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Rashid Khan and Samiullah Shinwari. Nijat Masoud, Qais Ahmad, and Sharafuddin Ashraf are the three players, who are part of the team as reserves.