Batters/Fielders: Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad, Noor ali Zadran
Bowlers: Gulbadin Naib ©, Aftab Alam, Dawlat Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Rashid Khan
All Rounders: Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari
Don’t Sleep On
– Hamid Hassan: The wild boy of Afghan cricket certainly leads the team in edginess. With his headband and warpaint ready to go, Hassan’s play after three years away from the team could make the difference in a few matches.
– Hazratullah Zazai: At 21-years-old, Zazai’s youth and experience on the big stage could be a good thing. Hear me out, youthful bliss can go along way! There’s little pressure on this team as far as expectations go, so Zazai can go out and gain vital experience for future tournaments.
Needed to Make a Run
– Mohammad Nabi: The allrounder had a fairly uneventful IPL with Hyderabad, but look for him to kick off some of the rust during the opening match against Australia.
–Gulbadin Naib: He’s the captain, that says it all. How he leads the team in the field is key. He’ll need to stay around his 5.5 economy rating and make sure to take his fair share of wickets to keep pressure off of Khan.
Key to the Cup
– Rashid Khan: The golden boy of bowling right now, Rashid Khan needs an otherworldly performance to push Afghanistan into anything more than a few group play wins. Look for him to be a game changer with both bat and ball this tournament.
Why Should I Watch?
On the international cricket stage, Afghanistan is still very young. This is an exciting time to make a splash on the international stage. While a semi-final run seems increasingly unlikely, they do have a match winner in Rashid Khan, who is one of the most electric players on the planet.
How Much Fun is this Team? (8/10)
Rashid Khan. That’s enough.
Best Case:
Major upsets! Afghanistan taking down giants such as England, Australia or India would become the stuff of legend. It doesn’t seem like a run to semis is possible, so one or two big wins will have to do!
Worst Case:
Injuries plague what is a really fun team. Being ranked 10th out of 10 teams means there’s very little in regards to expectations here. Afghanistan isn’t expected to win much, so the only thing worse than that would be those matches being lost due to injuries.
The American Slogger 