Kabul, July 24 (IANS) Left-arm fast bowler Fazalhaq Farooqi has made a return to Afghanistan’s ODI squad for the five-game series against Ireland, while veteran off-spin bowling all-rounder Mohammad Nabi has been omitted from the 15-member squad, said the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Friday.
Experienced batter Rahmat Shah will lead the side in his first assignment as a full-time ODI captain of Afghanistan. He recently took over the leadership duties from Hashmatullah Shahidi, who continues in the 50-over set-up purely as a batter.
The selection committee overhauled the pace department from their 3-0 ODI series defeat to India by drafting in Farooqi along with pacers Yamin Ahmadzai and Saleem Safi.
As a result, fast bowlers Fareed Malik and Bilal Sami, who were in the main squad against India, have been demoted to the reserve list alongside leg-spinner Qais Ahmad and pacer Bashir Ahmad, even as Nabi remains the most prominent absentee from the squad.
The rest of the squad maintains familiar stability, featuring star leg-spinner Rashid Khan, openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, and off-spinner AM Ghazanfar. The five-match series begins with the opening two fixtures at the Bready Cricket Club in Bready on July 5 and 7.
It is followed by the remaining three ODIs to be played at the Civil Service Cricket Club in Belfast on July 10, 12, and 15 respectively. Afghanistan last faced Ireland in an ODI series in March 2024, which they won 2-0.
Afghanistan ODI Squad: Rahmat Shah (c), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Darwish Rasooli, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Nangyal Kharotai, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Saleem Safi, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi.
Reserves: Qais Ahmad, Fareed Malik, Bilal Sami, Bashir Ahmad.
–IANS
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