Afghanistan has been one of the most improved cricketing nations in the recent times who’ve taken the world of cricket by surprise. The team however is coming off after a forgetful time on the field after having suffered heart breaking defeats and failure in achieving anything significant in the recent Asia Cup 2022.
The team after finishing top in its group in the first round failed to win a single match in the Super 4 stage and had to return empty handed from the tournament with three defeats in their quota. The team will be definitely looking to turn things around in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia.
The Mohammed Nabi lead side undoubtedly has some of the best players in the world each of whom are good enough to turn the tables in no time. The team has displayed quality performances against giant cricketing nations quite few times but failed to replicate their good performances in the big multinational tournaments.
The team has however managed to achieve a direct entry into the super 12 stage which means it will not have to be a part of the qualifying round this time. Afghanistan’s campaign shall begin on the 22nd of October against England. The team will be hoping to achieve their desirable result in the upcoming major tournament.
In this article we shall be discussing everything which you need to know about the Afghanistan team ahead of the World T20 2022.
T20 World Cup 2022: Afghanistan’s schedule
| Sl No. | Date | Match name | Time | Stadium |
| 1. | 22/10/22 | Afghanistan vs England | 19:00 IST | Perth Stadium, Perth |
| 2. | 26/10/22 | Afghanistan vs New Zealand | 19:00 IST | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne |
| 3. | 28/10/22 | Afghanistan vs Group B runner up | 19:00 IST | Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne |
| 4. | 1/11/22 | Afghanistan vs Group A winner | 14:00 IST | The Gabba, Brisbane |
| 5. | 4/11/22 | Afghanistan vs Australia | 18:30 IST | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide |
T20 World Cup 2022 – Afghanistan squad
| Sl No. | Names | Sl No. | Names |
| 1. | Mohammad Nabi (captain) | 9. | Ibrahim Zadran |
| 2. | Najibullah Zadran (vice-captain) | 10. | Mujib ur Rahman |
| 3. | Rahmanullah Gurbaz | 11. | Naveen ul Haq |
| 4. | Azmatullah Omarzai | 12. | Qais Ahmad |
| 5. | Darwish Rasooli | 13. | Rashid Khan |
| 6. | Farid Ahmad Malik | 14. | Salim Safi |
| 7. | Fazal Haq Farooqi | 15. | Usman Ghani |
| 8. | Hazratullah Zazai, |
Stand by : Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib.
T20 World Cup 2022 – Afghanistan’s Playing XI
| Sl No. | Names | Sl No. | Names |
| 1. | Hazratullah Zazai | 7. | Rashid Khan |
| 2. | Rahmatullah Gurbaz (wk) | 8. | Azmatullah Omarzai |
| 3. | Ibrahim Zadran | 9. | Mujeeb Ur Rahman |
| 4. | Najibullah Zadran | 10. | Fazalhaq Farooqi |
| 5. | Darwish Rasooli | 11. | Fareed Ahmad Malik |
| 6. | Mohammad Nabi |
T20 World Cup 2022: Afghanistan’s Players to Watch out for
1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz – Rahmanullah Gurbaz has one Afganistan’s most impactful youngsters in the recent times. The hard hitting opener has been in stellar form with the bat recently helping his side dismantle opposition bowling line ups regularly.
The 20 year old was in fine form during the Asia Cup as he scored 152 runs in 5 matches at a fantastic Strike rate of over 150. The man who made his T20I debut back in 2019 has amassed a total of 828 runs in 32 matches at a Strike rate of 138.46.He thus will surely be an important part of his team during the World T20 in Australia.
2. Rashid Khan – Rashid Khan who’s been the most important aspect of Afghanistan’s bowling department since quite some years now is going to be the player to watch out for in the T20 World Cup as well. The mystery spinner has been in fine rhythm lately and has shown some good performances in the recent Asia Cup too.
He picked 6 wickets in 5 matches at an economy of 6.55. His partnership with his teammate – Mujeeb Ur Rahman proves to be absolutely fatal for the opposition batsmen as the spin duo absolutely demolish the opposition with their brilliant spells of bowling. He will be required to perform brilliantly with the ball in the upcoming T20 World Cup too.
3. Mohammad Nabi – Skipper Mohammad Nabi will be another player to watch out for and possibly the most important aspect for his team during the T20 World Cup next month. The all rounder has been of great use to his team on several big matches with his brilliant bit of bowling, batting and leadership qualities.
He’s been a guiding light for the youngsters in the side and also been delivering quality performances for his side since several years in the past. Though the 37 year old isn’t in best of rhythm currently, his overall T20I numbers are quite fascinating.
Nabi has scored a total of 1669 runs in 101 T20I Matches for Afghanistan besides picking 83 wickets with the ball at an economy of 7.31. His presence will be a great boost for the Afghanistan side in the T20 World Cup in Australia.
T20 World Cup 2022 – Winning Prediction
Considering the current form of majority of the Players and the overall rhythm which the team is in right now, it really seems possible for the Afghanistan team to achieve greater heights in the upcoming T20 World Cup. The team has got some highly quality players in its squad each of whom are good enough to change the course of games all by themselves.
However the team has majorly been failing to replicate it’s good performances on the big stages. It’s due to this reason that the team has never really been able to have an impact in tournaments as big as the T20 World Cup. Moreover the fact that Afghanistan will have to battle it out against strong teams like Australia, England and New Zealand in the Super 12 stage of the T20 world cup makes it even more difficult for the team to achieve their objectives.
This taking all these circumstances into consideration, it will be correct to say that the Afghanistan side won’t be able to make it past the Group stages in the Super 12s due to the stuff competition that they shall be faced with.
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