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Afghanistan tour of Zimbabwe: Mujeeb returns for Zimbabwe tour, Akbari gets first T20I call-up

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Off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who has not played for Afghanistan since June due to injury, returned to their white-ball teams for the tour of Zimbabwe this month. Mujeeb was sidelined with a sprained right phalanx (hand) and only returned to competitive cricket for the first time in five months in the Abu Dhabi T10 on November 21.
Top-order batsman Zubaid Akbari earned his first call-up to Afghanistan’s T20I squad for the tour of Zimbabwe, while another top-order batsman Darwish Rasooli also returned to the shorter format.
Afghanistan will continue to miss the services of top-order batsman Ibrahim Zadran, who is still recovering from the ankle surgery he had recently undergone in England.
Akbari is coming off an impressive Emerging Teams Asia Cup T20 tournament, in which he was the fourth-highest and second-highest run-getter for Afghanistan A with 137 runs in four matches and a strike rate of 131.73. It was under the guidance of Rasooli, who has played seven T20Is, that Afghanistan A clinched their first T20 Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Oman earlier this year. Rasooli’s last T20I was against the United Arab Emirates in Sharjah in January this year.
Noor Ahmad has been named only in the T20I squad and Riaz Hassan was also left out of the ODI squad.

ACB interim chief selector Ahmad Shah said: “It is a great feeling to see our frontline player Mujeeb Ur Rahman recover from his injury and be available for selection. He is an essential member of our team and we look forward to May it continue to shine.” For Afghanistan, furthermore, Zubaid Akbari and Darwish Rasooli have been consistent performers, not only in domestic cricket but also in the recently concluded ACC Emerging Teams Cup, where Afghanistan claimed the title. players of the T20I team and we wish them all the best for the upcoming series.”

The white-ball leg of the Zimbabwe tour consists of three T20Is and as many ODIs, after which the teams will play two Tests between December 26 and January 6, 2025. Afghanistan is yet to name its Test team .

The limited leg of the tour has seen a slight change in dates and, according to ACB, this is “to help spectators attend key matches over the weekends”. As per the revised schedule, the three T20Is, which were originally scheduled to be played on December 9, 11 and 12, have now been postponed to December 11, 13 and 14. These adjustments also affected the ODIs, with the first game now scheduled for December 17 and the second and third ODIs on December 19 and 21, respectively. All these matches will be played at the Harare Sports Club.

Afghanistan squad for Zimbabwe ODIs

Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmat Shah (vice-captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar , Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik

Afghanistan squad for Zimbabwe T20Is

Rashid Khan (captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Darwish Rasooli, Zubaid Akbari, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad and Naveen Ul Haq

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