Afghanistan announce squad for Ireland tour, Mujeeb Ur Rahman in reserves due to visa issue

Ireland have lost four of their last five T20I matches against Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced the squad for the Ireland tour starting on August 9. The veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi will be leading a strong 16-member squad in the five-match T20I series scheduled at Belfast. The big news for the fans is that the star off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman is in the reserves as his visa has not been issued yet. But ACB chief selector Noor Malikzai has stated that the youngster will be drafted into the main squad once the visa issue gets resolved.

Ireland have already announced their squad for the two T20Is against South Africa and the five-match series against Afghanistan. Afghanistan have already qualified for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup 2022 starting on the 22nd of October in Australia. They are placed in Group A with hosts Australia, England, and New Zealand. On the other side, Ireland need to qualify for the Super 12 stage through first-round fixtures against West Indies, Scotland, and Zimbabwe.

“We have had good results in our recent tours, the squad has done well recently. We are looking forward to having good results again in our next series against Ireland. According to Malikzai, Mujeeb’s visa is not yet issued, and thus he has been added to reserve players. Once the problem is resolved, he will be included back in the main squad,” ACB chief selector Noor Malikzai said.

In 2020, Ireland competed against Afghanistan in a three-match away T20I series which they lost by 2-1. The last match is still fresh in fans’ memories as the hosts lost the Super-Over thriller when Kevin O’Brien smashed a six off star leggie Rashid Khan on the last ball.

Squad:

Afghanistan T20I Squad: Mohammad Nabi (C), Afsar Zazai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rashid Khan, and Sharafuddin Ashraf.

Reserve Players: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Nijat Masoud, Qais Ahmad, and Usman Ghani.

Ireland vs Afghanistan T20I Series Schedule:

09 August – 1st T20I, Belfast
11 August – 2nd T20I, Belfast
12 August – 3rd T20I, Belfast
15 August – 4th T20I, Belfast
17 August – 5th T20I, Belfast