Afghanistan have announced their squad for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, which is scheduled to be played in the UAE from September 9 to 28. Star spinner Rashid Khan will be leading the side in the tournament.

Naveen-Ul-Haq has returned to the national team for the first time since December 2024, having retired from ODI cricket. Afghanistan have been out of action in T20Is for a while now, having last played in the format during the Zimbabwe series in December 2024.

From that squad, only two players, Hazratullah Zazai and Zubaid Akbari, have been dropped, while Ibrahim Zadran and Sharafuddin Ashraf have made their comeback after missing out on the Zimbabwe tour. Meanwhile, young spin sensation Allah Ghazanfar will also play for Afghanistan in 2025 for the first time following a long absence due to an injury.

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Rashid will lead Afghanistan's bowling attack that also includes star pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi and wrist spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, with talisman all-rounder Azmantullah Omarzai also in the setup.

Afghanistan have been a promising T20I side over the years, and they will be heading into the Asia Cup as a big threat to the other teams and will back themselves to win the competition for the first time in history. In the last three ICC white-ball events, they have emerged as the second-best Asian side behind India.

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In the shortest format, they reached the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies last year. They got the better of New Zealand and Australia in the tournament.

Afghanistan are drawn in group A alongside Hong Kong, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. They will open their campaign on September 9 against Hong Kong in the opening game of the tournament at Abu Dhabi, before facing Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the same venue on 16th and 18th September.


Afghanistan Squad For Asia Cup 2025: Rashid Khan (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Farid Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Reserve Players - Wafiullah Tarakhil, Nangyal Kharote, Abdullah Ahmadzai