Rasooli, Safi named in Afghanistan's squad for T20 World Cup

Batter Darwish Rasooli and pacer Salim Safi were on Thursday picked in Afghanistan's 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia.

The ICC event will be held from October 16 to November 13.

Of the 17 players who were part of the Afghanistan Squad for the recently held Asia Cup, Samiullah Shinwari, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat and Noor Ahmad missed out.

Fit-again Rasooli, leg-spin all-rounder Qais Ahmad and Safi made the cut. Afsar Zazai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Rahmat Shah and Gulbadin Naib have been added to the travelling squad as reserves.

The side will be led by the seasoned Mohammad Nabi.

Chief selector Noor Malikzai said, "The Asia Cup was a very good opportunity for the team to buildup things nicely for the much-important global event in Australia.

"Fortunately, Darwish Rasooli has recovered from injury (broken finger) and we are happy to have him available for the WT20, he has demonstrated good glimpses of him in the previously held Shpageeza Cricket League 2022 and offers an additional batting option to our middle order.

"Since the Australian conditions are fast bowling friendly, so we have added Salim Safi, the tall right-arm quick to add further impetus to our bowling department."

Squad: Mohammad Nabi (captain), Najibullah Zadran (vice-captain), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Darwish Rasooli, Farid Ahmad Malik, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Mujib ur Rahman, Naveen ul Haq, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Salim Safi and Usman Ghani.