Rashid Khan to Lead Afghanistan at T20 World Cup, 15-Member Squad Announced

Rashid Khan will captain Afghanistan at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, scheduled to be held next year in India and Sri Lanka. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced a 15-member squad for the tournament. The same squad will also feature in a three-match T20I series against West Indies in the United Arab Emirates as part of the team’s World Cup preparations.
The announced squad sees the return of left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, offspinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, allrounder Gulbadin Naib, and right-arm seamer Naveen-ul-Haq. Farooqi and Naib had missed the white-ball series against Bangladesh in October but have been recalled ahead of the World Cup.
Mujeeb’s inclusion has resulted in mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar being named among the reserves, alongside Ijaz Ahmadzai and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi. Naveen-ul-Haq returns to the squad after recovering from a shoulder injury that ruled him out of the Asia Cup in September. He last represented Afghanistan in a T20I against Zimbabwe in December 2024.
Afghanistan had made history at the 2024 T20 World Cup by reaching the semi-finals for the first time in an ICC tournament. During that campaign, they registered notable victories over higher-ranked teams such as New Zealand, West Indies, Australia and Bangladesh.
ACB Chief Executive Officer Naseeb Khan said, “Afghanistan had an outstanding performance in the previous edition of the T20 World Cup. Those memories inspire us. We are hopeful of achieving even better results in this year’s tournament, which will be played in Asian conditions. The series against West Indies ahead of the World Cup provides us with an excellent opportunity to fine-tune our combinations.”
Afghanistan will play the T20I series against West Indies from January 19 to 22. At the T20 World Cup, they have been placed in Group D alongside New Zealand, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Canada. Afghanistan will begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on February 8 in Chennai.
Afghanistan squad for the West Indies T20I series and the T20 World Cup:Rashid Khan (capt), Ibrahim Zadran (vice-capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Abdullah Ahmadzai.
Reserves: AM Ghazanfar, Ijaz Ahmadzai and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi.