Sri Lanka vs Afghanistan ODI Series: Afghanistan have announced a strong squad for their upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka which is scheduled to begin on Friday, February 9.

Their star all-rounder Rashid Khan hasn't been named in the 15-member squad as he continues to recover from his back injury.

Rashid underwent a back surgery late last year and has not played any competitive cricket since the 2023 ODI World Cup in November in India.

 

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Qais Ahmad, who has played just one ODI for Afghanistan so far, will fill in for Rashid in Sri Lanka.

The young spinner Noor Ahmed, who is currently playing in the SA20 League for Durban Super Gianst will join the Afghanistan squad in Sri Lanka and will be missing the rest of the league in South Africa.

 

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The experienced all-rounder Gulbadin Naib will be making his return to the ODI squad after impressing with his power hitting in the T20I series against India last month.

Najibullah Zadran, who was part of Afghanistan's World Cup squad, has been left out for the Sri Lanka ODIs whereas Abdul Rahman was named only as a reserve.

Fareed Ahmad also made it to the 15-member squad. Both Gulbadin and Fareed were reserve players in the 2023 ODI World Cup in India.

"We have consistently striven to secure more bilateral cricket matches and create a busy schedule for our national teams," ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said. "This marks our third visit to Sri Lanka in the past 16 months, which is a promising sign moving forward. The selectors have selected a strong line-up and we eagerly anticipate an exciting series ahead."

All three matches of the ODI series are scheduled to be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium before both the teams move to Dambulla for a three-match T20I series.

They are currently engaged in the only Test, the first-ever match between both the teams in the longest format with the hosts leading the contest at the moment but Afghanistan fought back on the third day.


Afghanistan squad for ODI series against SL

Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah (vice-capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Qais Ahmad, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran, Farid Ahmad

Reserves: Sharafuddin Ashraf, Shahidullah, Abdul Rahman, Bilal Sami