ICC Cricket World Cup 2019: Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Other Key Players in the Afghanistan Team for CWC
Afghanistan cricket team will be playing the World Cup tournament for the second time as they also featured in ICC CWC 2015.
The ICC Cricket World Cup (CWC) 2019 is scheduled to begin from May 30 where the first match will take place at The Oval ground between England and South Africa. This will be the 12th edition of CWC tournament which will take place for the 5th time at England and Wales. Ahead of ICC CWC 2019, I will take you through five Afghanistan cricketers- Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, Mohammad Shahzad and Hazratullah Zazai who can create a huge impact in the upcoming cricket's mega tournament. Afghanistan Team for ICC World Cup 2019: Hamid Hassan Makes Comeback in Gulbadin Naib-Led 15-Man Squad For CWC19.
Afghanistan cricket team will be playing the World Cup tournament for the second time as they also featured in ICC CWC 2015. This time ICC took the decision to feature only top 10 Test playing nations. Afghanistan and West Indies proved themselves worthy of qualifying by finishing as top two teams out of 10 participating nations in ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifying tournament. Afghanistan defeated West Indies in the final of CWC Qualifying series on Mar 25, 2018, at Harare, Zimbabwe. Amul Named As Afghanistan Cricket Team's Sponsor for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.
Afghan team also showed excellent class by giving tough times to their neighbouring nation Asia Cup 2018 held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Afghanistan defeated top teams like Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the group stage of Asia Cup 2018. In the Super 4 stage, they even managed a tie against India. Afghanistan has removed their regular captain Asghar Stankzai from CWC 2019 tournament and made Gulbadin Naib as the skipper of the team. Mujeeb Ur Rahman Elated on Inclusion in Afghanistan Squad for ICC Cricket World Cup 2019, Eyes Semi-final Berth.
Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan is currently a top-class spinner in limited overs format. He made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe on 18th October 2015. One cannot forget his best figures in ODI cricket of 7/18 against West Indies where he rattled the Windies batting line up. Rashid has scalped 125 wickets from 58 matches with an amazing economy rate of 3.91 runs per over. Not to forget the Afghan stalwart also contribute from the bat and he will play a key role for his team in upcoming ICC CWC 2019.
Mohammad Nabi
Mohammad Nabi is the most experienced one in the squad for CWC 2019. He made his ODI debut against Scotland in 2009. He has scored 2592 runs from 111 matches with the best score of 116. The best part is that he can bat at any order and also known for his mighty blows which help strengthen up his team run rate. Nabi has also bagged 118 wickets from 111 matches with an economy of 4.25 runs per over. Both Nabi and Rashid Khan have played at big stages like Indian Premier League (IPL) and their experience would play a vital role in Afghanistan team performance at CWC 2019.
Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
This 18 years old right-arm off break Afghanistan spinner is immensely talented. Mujeeb considers his Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) skipper Ravichandran Ashwin as his idol and has also revealed that he has learnt a lot from him. He made his ODI debut against Ireland on Dec, 2017. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman has taken 51 wickets from 29 ODIs with an economy of 3.73. His spinning abilities can make life tough of opposite team batsmen in the coming ICC CWC 2019.
Mohammad Shahzad
This right-handed wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Shahzad has played 79 ODIs and scored 2619 runs. He has scored 5 centuries and 13 fifties and has an average of 33.57 and strike rate of 87.91. In the 2018 Asia Cup, he scored a quick fire 124 against the Indian team in Dubai. Shahzad loved himself being called as MS, as MS Dhoni is his favourite cricketer. He is also known for playing helicopter shot like Dhoni.
Hazratullah Zazai
The left-handed batsman Hazratullah Zazai will play his first World Cup for Afghanistan. He has played 8 One day internationals till now and scored 183 runs with the best score of 67 and strike rate of 92.89. He scored an unbeaten 162 against Ireland in a T20 match in February 2019, which is the second highest individual score in the T20 format. Afghanistan lacks in batting, his presence will indeed solidify the Afghan batting line-up in upcoming CWC 2019.
Afghanistan is currently playing against Ireland in 2 match ODI series which has started from May 19, 2019, however, bad news for Afghan fan is that their team has lost the 1st ODI against Ireland. Click here for Ireland vs Afghanistan 2 matches ODI series details. Afghanistan team will play their first CWC 2019 match against Australia on June 1 at Bristol County Ground.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2019 08:15 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).