ISLAMABAD: Pakistan won the toss and elected to field against Afghanistan in the first one-day international (ODI) of the three-match series held in Hambantota, Sri Lanka.
This series serves as a home series for Afghanistan, who are unable to host international cricket matches in their own country due to security concerns. Earlier in the day, Afghanistan encountered a significant setback prior to the series as middle-order batter Najibullah Zadran was out of the way due to a knee injury. In his place, Shahidullah has been brought in.
However, Najibullah Zadran is a pivotal player in the Afghanistan team, having participated in 88 ODI matches throughout his career. He maintains an average of 30.04 and a strike rate of 89.42 in 50-over cricket, boasting a century and 15 half-centuries to his credit.
Conversely, Shahidullah has only participated in a single ODI match, which took place against the Netherlands in January 2022 in Doha.
Furthermore, this series presents an opportunity for both teams to prepare for the upcoming Asia Cup, scheduled to commence on August 30.
Additionally, in previous encounters, Pakistan and Afghanistan have contested four ODIs, all of which were won by the former. Their most recent encounter in this format was during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019.
Series Schedule
22 Aug – First ODI, Hambantota
24 Aug – Second ODI, Hambantota
26 Aug – Third ODI, Colomb
Squads
Pakistan: Imamul Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam(C), Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Salman Ali Aga, Shadab Khan, Usama Mir, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zardan, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Abdul Rehman, Ikram Ali.
