• Source:JND
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Afghanistan National Cricket Team vs Hong Kong National Cricket Team Players: Afghanistan won the toss and captain Rashid Khan elected to bat first against Hong Kong at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Afghanistan are coming in to the game with a loss against Pakistan in the tri-series final.

Rashid, informed of one change in the playing XI - Darwish Rasool makes way for Gulbadin Naib.

Rashid Khan at the toss: "We would like to bat first. It looks like a good wicket to put runs on the board, good total on the board will help the bowlers. In T20 it does not matter if you win the toss or not, but you have to give yourself the best opportunity to pick wickets in the middle period. It (tri-series final) is already behind us, we are well focused on the game today, even if we had won the final we would have focused on the game today and how to win. Just one change from the final - Darwish misses out and Gulbadin is back."

Also Read: Rashid Khan raises questions over Afghanistan's schedule in Asia Cup 

On the other hand, Hong Kong captain Yasim Murtaza expressed excitement about KalhanChallu's inclusion in the XI.

Yasim Murtaza: "We wanted to bowl first. I am happy to bowl. We worked hard to get here. We played good cricket in the qualifiers. As a captain I am looking forward to see how KalhanChallu will do on the big stage."

As per the official broadcaster, "There is not a lot of data about this pitch. There is a touch of live and dead grass, you might get some turn. It looks so flat. The grass is 3.5mm, it is consistent and you don't expect it to crumble or turn. Batting first is a good option. Ireland defended 199 against South Africa last year, there was not much dew then. So put the runs on the board and defend. Stump to stump for the spinners will work beautifully."

Afghanistan National Cricket Team vs Hong Kong National Cricket Team Players:

Also Read: Asia Cup tournament winners | complete list 

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi

Hong Kong (Playing XI): Zeeshan Ali(w), Babar Hayat, Anshuman Rath, Kalhan Challu, Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, Kinchit Shah, Yasim Murtaza(c), Ayush Shukla, Ateeq Iqbal, Ehsan Khan