Mujeeb returns to Afghanistan team for Zimbabwe tour, Zubaid Akbari earns maiden T20I call-up

The teams for Afghanistan’s white-ball portion of the Zimbabwe tour, which will take place in Harare from December 11–21 and include three Twenty20 Internationals and as many One-Day Internationals, have been announced.

The T20I team has called up Zubaid Akbari, a promising left-handed top-order batsman, for the first time. Akbari was a key factor in AfghanAbdalyan’s success at the Emerging Asia Cup and put on some incredible performances during the local season. In addition, following a strong domestic campaign, Darwish Rasooli rejoins the T20I team. He also guided the AfghanAbdalyan team to their first-ever championship earlier this year at the ACC Men’s T20 Emerging Asia Cup in Oman.

Ibrahim Zadran, who recently had ankle surgery in England and is still recuperating, will continue to be unavailable to Afghanistan. Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, the front-line spinner, has fully recovered from his right phalanx sprain, though, and has been added to the team for the T20I and ODI series while touring Zimbabwe.

“The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) and the AfghanAtalan squad have had a busy and successful calendar year in 2024, with a full schedule of home and away matches and several outstanding accomplishments. The AfghanAtalan lineup will tour Zimbabwe for a full and all-format series as part of this action-packed year. We excitedly anticipate this and look forward to the chances and challenges that lie ahead’, said ACB CEO Naseeb Khan.

Throughout the years, AfghanAtalan has played in Zimbabwe and has done quite well there. It’s always a challenge and a huge thrill to play against Zimbabwe at home. He continued, “I think the team of players chosen for this series will step up to the plate and make this tour an unforgettable one.”

Ahmad Shah, the ACB Interim Chief Selector, said, “Seeing our frontline spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, return from injury and be available for selection is a great feeling.” We hope he keeps shining brilliantly for Afghanistan since he is a vital member of our team. In addition, Zubaid Akbari and Darwish Rasooli have consistently performed well in both domestic cricket and the just finished ACC Emerging Teams Cup, in which Afghanistan won. Both players have been added to the T20I team, and we hope they enjoy the best possible series.

Afghanistan T20I squad for Zimbabwe Tour: 

Rashid Khan (C), 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.

Afghanistan ODI squad for Zimbabwe Tour: 

Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), 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, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.

In the meantime, the dates for the white-ball portion of the tour have been somewhat shifted to accommodate the attendance of the important games on weekends. The three T20Is that were originally scheduled to take place on December 9, 11, and 12 have been moved to Wednesday, December 11, Friday, December 13, and Saturday, November 14, in accordance with the updated match schedule.

With the first match now set for Tuesday, December 17, these changes have also had an impact on the ODIs. The second and third One-Day Internationals will take place on Thursday, December 19, and Saturday, December 21, respectively. The Harare Sports Club is the venue for all of these games.

ZIM vs AFG 2024-25 Fixtures