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Gurbaz included in Afghanistan’s squad for one-off test against Ireland

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Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday announced the nation’s squad for the one-off test match against Ireland that is scheduled to be played from February 28 to March 3 at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been added to the test squad and is expected to be a potential debutant for Afghanistan against Ireland. In addition, a right-arm leg-spinner, Khalil Gurbaz, is expected to provide his leg-break bowling services.

Fast Bowler Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai has also been recalled to the squad after featuring in the Afghanistan squad for the Bangladesh tour in June last year. Yamin Ahmadzai and Mohammad Saleem Safi who were part of Afghanistan’s squad for the Sri Lanka test earlier this month, miss out on the selection due to injuries.

ACB CEO Naseeb Khan stated that Afghanistan carries a rich playing history against Ireland over the past 15 years.

“We have quite a good playing history with Ireland, both countries have played plenty of cricket against each other and have been granted ICC Full Membership at the same time. This will be our second test against them and we are eagerly looking forward to what will be an exciting test match between the two team,” he said.

“We will also be playing tests against Bangladesh, New Zealand (for the first time) and Zimbabwe later in the year, so we are looking forward to building a formidable lineup for the test matches ahead.”

Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil, ACB’s interim Chief Selector said: “The team underwent a 10-day conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi, which featured 22 players and all the support staff to work with the players and ensure full preparation for the series. We have thoroughly monitored the proceedings and have picked the squad which includes several new faces who have excelled well during the recent domestic events.”

Afghanistan Squad for the one-off test against Ireland: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Ikram Alikhail (WK), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah, Nasir Jamal, Karim Janat, Khalil Gurbaz, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Nijat Masoud, Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai and Naveed Zadran.

This will be Afghanistan’s 9th overall test match and second against Ireland. The one-off test match against Ireland will be followed by 5 more test matches this year, including a two-test home series against Bangladesh and a one-off home test against New Zealand. Afghanistan has previously won three test matches each against Ireland (2019), Bangladesh (2019), and Zimbabwe (2021).

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Cricket Ireland cancels Afghanistan series for ‘financial reasons’

However, in the same statement Cricket Ireland confirmed a line up of action-packed cricket this summer.

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Ireland’s cricket board announced this week they have cancelled a multi-format series against Afghanistan scheduled for later this year.

Cricket Ireland said in a statement issued on Tuesday that they were cancelling the series due to “financial reasons”.

“One planned series that won’t go ahead for financial reasons is against Afghanistan.

“This decision is part of our management of short-term budgetary constraints, as well as our requirement to comply with the Board’s mandate to deliver balanced investment across the organisation’s strategic objectives,” said Warren Deutrom, Chief Executive of Cricket Ireland.

However, in the same statement Cricket Ireland confirmed a line up of action-packed cricket this summer.

West Indies will play six limited-overs matches in Ireland in May and June before England arrive in September for a three-match Twenty20 series.

In addition, Zimbabwe Women and Pakistan Women will tour Ireland in July and August respectively; and Ireland Women will compete in two ICC World Cup qualifier tournaments.

In addition to this, Ireland Wolves will head to the UAE to play Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A as part of a multi-format tour.

Cricket Ireland added that “further fixtures and tours in 2025 will be announced in due course”.
Deutrom meanwhile said Cricket Ireland will also invest to upgrade infrastructure and facilities across the country.

The Irish government announced last August it would build a stadium at the national sports campus in Blanchardstown, which will also stage matches of the T20 World Cup in 2030, which Ireland will co-host with England and Scotland.

“All in all, on and off the pitch, in time this will be recognised as one of the more consequential years in Irish cricket history,” Deutrom added.

In response to this news, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has clarified that the matches have not been canceled and that efforts are underway to reschedule them at a more suitable time.

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Asian Cup: Afghanistan’s beach soccer team arrives in Thailand

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Afghanistan’s national beach soccer team arrived in Thailand on Tuesday to participate in a training camp ahead of the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup Thailand 2025.

Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) said in a post on Facebook that a 10-day training camp has been organized for the national beach soccer team in order for the players to enhance their skills ahead of the tournament.

The Afghan national beach soccer team is placed in Group C of the AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup 2025 alongside the beach soccer teams of Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia.

AFC Beach Soccer Asian Cup Thailand 2025 will kick off on March 20 and run through to March 30. Thailand is the official host.

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India upbeat over Champions Trophy win against New Zealand

The final on Sunday in Dubai will decide the winner of the eight-nation tournament played in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

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India’s Shubman Gill on Saturday said the team will look to win the Champions Trophy final against New Zealand to get over their 2023 ODI World Cup title defeat.

The final on Sunday in Dubai will decide the winner of the eight-nation tournament played in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.

“I am quite excited,” vice-captain Gill told reporters. “My second ICC event for team India and second final. The last time which we couldn’t do, we will try to do it this time.”

India went down to Australia in the 50-over World Cup final in November 2023 on home soil in Ahmedabad in a heartbreaking defeat for the team, which had come into the title clash unbeaten, AFP reported.

However, Rohit Sharma’s team eased the heartache of fans a few months later when they lifted the 2024 T20 World Cup title — India’s first victory in a major global event since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Gill, who was not part of the T20 triumph, said the ICC title in Barbados allows the team to go into Sunday’s final without any baggage.

“It’s also about once you get one title that kind of breaks the jinx and then it gives you the momentum and also you are not desperate about getting the title,” said Gill.

“Winning the title in 2024 doesn’t mean that we are less hungry, but it kind of gives us more balance that we have won an ICC title and we will try to do our best to win this one.”

India come into the title clash unbeaten in four matches after they went past Australia in the semi-final to eye a third Champions Trophy crown, AFP reported.

India have played all their matches in Dubai after they refused to tour hosts Pakistan due to political tensions.

Gill said the importance of a final does come into the equation when they walk out but a champion team knows how to handle pressure.

“The big-match pressure is always there,” said Gill.

“This is the reason why we talk about big teams of previous years, including West Indies and Australia. Those teams played their best cricket in knock-outs. Easier said than done, but good teams play their best cricket under pressure.”

Virat Kohli has been in top form as he hit an unbeaten 100 against arch-rivals Pakistan in a group game and hit 84 in another successful chase in the semi-final.

Rohit has been slammed for not converting his starts into bigger scores, but his quick cameos have nonetheless allowed the team to build totals.

Gill, who opens with Rohit, said India’s batting depth has allowed the top-order to bat freely.

“I think this is the best batting line-up that I have been part of,” said Gill. “Rohit, Virat, I think all-time one-day greats. Rohit one of the best openers in white-ball and Virat one of the best ODI batsman ever,” he said.

Fans across Afghanistan can tune in to watch the final live and exclusively in the country on Ariana Television. The final gets underway at 1:30pm Kabul time.

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