Sport
England wins toss, elects to bowl in World Cup match against Afghanistan
England won the toss on Sunday morning and elected to bowl first in what will be a crucial game for Afghanistan, which has suffered heavy defeats in both their opening games, by six wickets to Bangladesh and by eight wickets to India.
They have made one change with Najibullah Zadran losing his place in the middle order to Ikram Alikhil.
The two countries have only met twice before with England winning convincingly on both occasions – by nine wickets at the 2015 World Cup in Sydney and 150 runs in Manchester four years ago.
Afghanistan, meanwhile, are currently at the bottom of the points table with two losses from the two matches they have played.
The match against India was also played at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi so Afghanistan will at least be familiar with the conditions.
Batters are expected to play a major role in England's clash against Afghanistan. In many ways, the defending World Cup champions finally arrived at the tournament in their second game in Dharamsala. After a nine-wicket loss in Ahmedabad against New Zealand, their players fired in all departments against Bangladesh as England managed a 137-run win.
The Jos Buttler-led side would hope to continue a similar run in Delhi. The Arun Jaitley wicket has proved to be good for batting thus far. And England batters, reputed for their aggressive approach, can make the most of the likely suitable conditions when at the crease.
The Afghanistan side would love to get their act together in the World Cup. They’ve impressed in phases but haven’t been able to click as a unit but would surely like their senior players, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi, to give a better account of themselves in the upcoming matches.
Squads
Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.
England: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Curran, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Mark Wood, Chris Woakes.
Key Players
Afghanistan - Mohammad Nabi
Though they haven’t won a single ODI since July, Afghanistan came close to causing a major upset against Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup at the back of a belligerent 65 from 32 balls by Mohammad Nabi.
Nabi is one of the veterans of the Afghanistan setup, who continues to contribute in all departments on and off the field. He might have missed out in the first two games of the tournament, but England would ignore Nabi at their own risk.
The hard-hitting lower-order batter is also a canny customer with the ball. And Afghanistan would love for Nabi to be at his very best in both departments.
England - Reece Topley
After a lackluster showing with the ball in Ahmedabad, England were on top of their game in Dharamsala. A big factor was Reece Topley’s 4/43 which included the big wickets of Shakib Al Hasan, Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mushfiqur Rahim.
England would like to complement their all-out attacking approach with the willow with a new-ball operator who can assure them of early breakthroughs going ahead in the tournament. Topley did well in Dharamsala, and he can reassure England greatly if he does well in Delhi too.
For fans in Afghanistan
Ariana Television Network is the official broadcasting partner in Afghanistan and has the exclusive rights to broadcast and stream Cricket World Cup 2023 matches into the homes of fans, live, each day.
As we fight the global quest to Stop Piracy, we appeal to our fans in Afghanistan to tune in to Ariana Television or visit www.arianatelevision.com, and stream matches live.
Please don’t support pirate broadcasters and websites streaming pirated versions!
Afghanistan’s fixtures still to come, that will be broadcast live on Ariana Television are as follows:
• Afghanistan vs England: Sunday, October 15, 2023, Delhi
• Afghanistan vs New Zealand: Wednesday, October 18, 2023, Chennai
• Afghanistan vs Pakistan: Monday, October 23, 2023, Chennai
• Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka: Monday, October 30, 2023, Pune
• Afghanistan vs Netherlands: Friday, November 3, 2023, Lucknow
• Afghanistan vs Australia: Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Mumbai
• Afghanistan vs South Afri
Sport
Afghanistan to tour Zimbabwe for all-format series
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said the tour will take place from December 9 to January 6
AfghanAtalan will tour Zimbabwe next month for an all-format series that will feature two Test matches, three ODIs and three T20Is.
According to the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) the tour will take place from December 9 to January 6.
First up will be a three-match T20I series to be played on December 9, 11 and 12 at the Harare Sports Club.
This will be followed by a three-match ODI series on December 15, 17, and 19 at the same venue.
The tour will conclude with a two-match Test series in Bulawayo, with the first Test scheduled from December 26 to 30 and the second from January 2 to 6.
Mirwais Ashraf, Chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board, said in a statement that “this year (2024) has been quite productive for us both domestically and internationally, and we’ve had good achievements.
“We are committed to striving hard and adding more bilateral cricket to our calendar in the next year and bringing more glory to our nation,” he said.
“The all-format tour to Zimbabwe is a significant event for us. We have a rich history with Zimbabwe, and playing there has always been challenging, but it’s a challenge I believe the AfghanAtalan can face confidently,” he added.
Zimbabwe Cricket’s Chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said December 26 and January 1 “Test matches are iconic cricket fixtures that we are delighted to be adding to our calendar this festive season and we are looking forward to celebrating in style one of the finest traditions in the sport’s long history.
“Before the Test series, scheduled for Bulawayo, we will start off with some T20I and ODI action in Harare to complete a full tour, a clear demonstration of our commitment to improve our game across all formats.
“Matches between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan are always intense and exciting affairs and we have no doubt the players will once again serve up some great entertainment befitting such a historic tour.”
The AfghanAtalan squad will arrive in Zimbabwe on December 6, where they will have two practice sessions before the first T20I match on December 9.
Sport
Bangladesh announce squad for ODI series against Afghanistan, Shanto to continue as captain
The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Friday announced its squad for the upcoming ODI series against Afghanistan. Najmul Hossain Shanto, who had expressed his desire to quit captaincy following the South Africa Tests, has been named the captain for the series.
The announcement follows the discussion between Shanto and BCB president Faruque Ahmed on Thursday evening, as Shanto had informed the board of his reluctance to continue as Bangladesh's all-format captain.
Bangladesh are without Shakib Al Hasan, who Faruque said voluntarily pulled out of reckoning for this ODI series. Litton Das is also missing due to fever which kept him out of the Chattogram Test against South Africa.
Pacer Nahid Rana is the only uncapped player in the squad, which sees the return of opener Zakir Hasan and left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed.
Zakir has featured in only one ODI, while Nasum's last 50-over game came in the ODI World Cup in India last year.
Anamul Haque, Taijul Islam and Hasan Mahmud have not found places in the squad with Mahmud missing due to a shoulder injury. Wicketkeeper batter Litton Das also misses out due to fever.
The ODI series will kick start on November 6, followed by the second and third games on November 9 and 11. All the matches will take place at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Bangladesh's ODI squad for Afghanistan:
Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Zakir Hasan, Nazmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mushfiqur Rahim, Mahmudullah Riyad, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana
Sport
Rashid Khan retained by Gujrat Titans ahead of IPL 2025 auction
“No T20 team would be complete without a world-class spinner, and we are fortunate to have one of the very best in Rashid Khan,” Gujrat Titans said in a news release.
Afghan cricket star Rashid Khan has been retained by the Indian Premier League side Gujrat Titans ahead of the auction.
Khan has been retained for 180 million Indian rupees (approx. $2.14 million).
“No T20 team would be complete without a world-class spinner, and we are fortunate to have one of the very best in Rashid Khan,” Gujrat Titans said in a news release.
“Rashid started weaving his magic right from the outset in our first season, where he returned with 19 wickets. He upped the ante in 2023 with 27 wickets, which includes a spectacular hat-trick against Kolkata Knight Riders. Rashid also became the first player to cross 50 wickets for our franchise during the 2024 season,” according to the news release.
“Also not to forget, he underlines his value as an all-rounder with remarkable contributions as a batter - let it be those last ball finishes against SRH in 2022 or PBKS in 2024, or the unforgettable night in 2023 at Wankhede where he smashed his highest T20 score,” it added.
Rashid Khan was picked by Gujrat Titans before the auction in 2022, when the franchise had just entered the IPL. He got 150 million Indian rupees ($1.78 million) then.
Other players retained by Gujrat Titans are Shubman Gill, Sai Sudharsan, Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia.
IPL auction will take place in November or December.
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