With just one day to go before the start of the inaugural Lanka T10 Super League in Kandy, foreign players, coaches and support staff have started arriving in the Sri Lankan capital. 

Seven Afghan players were snapped up for this exciting new event, and will feature in four of the six teams. 

Najibullah Zadran is playing for Colombo Jaguars; and left-arm spinner Hamza Hotak is in Kandy Bolts’ lineup. 

Nuwara Eliya Kings snapped up two Afghans, Zubaid Akbari; and right-arm pacer Aftab Alam. 

Hambantota Banga Tigers in turn have three players from Afghanistan in their squad. 

They are Hazratullah Zazai, who famously hit 162 off 62 balls, the highest in a T20I, in Dehradun in February 2019 against Ireland; Karim Janat, the younger brother of Asghar Afghan; and one of the country’s most celebrated batsmen, Mohammad Shahzad. 

Lanka T10 Super League 2024 will get underway on Wednesday, December 11. The first match will be played between Jaffna Titans and Hambantota Tigers at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, in Pallekele.

Below is the complete 2024 Lanka T10 Super League squad details for all six participating teams.

Colombo Jaguars

Angelo Mathews, Azam Khan, Kamindu Mendis, Matheesha Pathirana, Tymal Mills, Asif Ali, Angelo Perera, Akila Dhananjaya, Ali Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Isitha Wijesundara, Ramesh Mendis, Aamer Jamal, Ranuda Somarathne, Jewel Andrew, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Garuka Sanketh

Galle Marvels

Shakib Al Hasan, Maheesh Theekshana, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Andre Fletcher, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Alex Hales, Binura Fernando, Luke Wood, Jeffrey Vandersay, Zahoor Khan, Sandun Weerakkody, Prabath Jayasuriya, Kesrick Williams, Dumindu Sewmina, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Sadisha Rajapaksa

Hambantota Bangla Tigers

Dasun Shanaka, Qasim Akram, Kusal Perera, Isuru Udana, Hazratullah Zazai, Karim Janat, Dushmantha Chameera, Richard Gleeson, Tharindu Rathnayake, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Dhananjaya Lakshan, Nishan Peiris, Soumya Sarkar, Shevon Daniel, Brian Bennett, Sahan Arachchige, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Chamath Gomez

Jaffna Titans

Wanindu Hasaranga, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Nuwan Thushara, Kusal Mendis, Johnson Charles, Dwaine Pretorius, Charith Asalanka, Babar Azam, Dunith Wellalage, David Wiese, Pramod Madushan, Pavan Rathnayake, George Garton, Trevin Mathew, Kevin Wickham

Kandy Bolts

George Munsey, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Huraira, Milinda Siriwardana, Amir Hamza, Dinesh Chandimal, Pathum Nissanka, Saim Ayub, Chaturanga de Silva, Shahnawaz Dahani, Shehan Jayasuriya, Chamika Gunasekara, Chandrapaul Hemraj, Danal Hemananda, Arinesto Vezha, Seekkuge Prasanna

Nuwara Eliya Kings

Kyle Mayers, Avishka Fernando, Saurabh Tiwary, Danushka Gunathilaka, Oshane Thomas, Kasun Rajitha, Dushan Hemantha, Benny Howell, Lahiru Madushanka, Sediqullah Atal, Nimasara Atharagalla, Yashodha Lanka, Zubaid Akbari, Vishen Halambage, Rivaldo Clarke, Chamika Karunaratne, Pulindu Perera

Lanka T10 Watch Live

Cricket fans across the country can tune in to Ariana Television from 2pm on Wednesday December 11 to watch the event live.

The league will wrap up on December 19.

After much anticipation, the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 draw took place on Thursday night in the United States. 

The draw for next year's tournament took place in Miami and was conducted by Juventus and Italy legend Alessandro Del Piero.

To be held in the US between June 15 and July 13, 2025, the revamped continental football club competition will see 32 clubs from around the world compete to be crowned world champions.

The draw meanwhile featured all 32 qualified teams from AFC, CAF, Concacaf, OFC and UEFA, sorted into groups of four. 

The event format ensured that no group included more than one team from the same confederation, excluding UEFA. Teams from the same countries, like Chelsea and Manchester City and Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, also could not be drawn into the same group.

Among the big teams competing at next year's tournament are UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid of Spain, Brazil’s Botafogo who won the CONMEBOL Copa Libertadores and Al Ahly of Egypt, who have claimed three of the last four CAF Champions League titles.

European teams have been given 12 places, while South America has six. 

Most expect the eventual winner to come from either of these continents. 

There are also four each from Asia, Africa and North America, with just one representative from Oceania. 

Here's the full list of results from the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup draw.

Group A: Palmeiras (BRA); Porto (POR); Al Ahly (EGY); Inter Miami (USA)

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain (FRA); Atletico Madrid (ESP); Botafogo (BRA); Seattle Sounders (USA)

Group C: Bayern Munich (GER); Auckland City (NZL); Boca Juniors (ARG); Benfica (POR)

Group D: Flamengo (BRA); Esperance de Tunis (TUN); Chelsea (ENG); Leon (MEX)

Group E: River Plate (ARG); Urawa Red Diamonds (JPN); Monterrey (MEX); Inter (ITA)

 Group F: Fluminense (BRA); Borussia Dortmund (GER); Ulsan HD (KOR); Mamelodi Sundowns (RSA)

Group G: Manchester City (ENG); Wydad (MAR); Al Ain (UAE); Juventus (ITA)

Group H: Real Madrid (ESP); Al Hilal (KSA); Pachuca (MEX); Red Bull Salzburg (AUT)

For the first time in the tournament’s 24-year history, 32 clubs will take part in the Club World Cup in the same format used in the World Cup, which is contested by nations.

Typically, the Club World Cup has been contested with six to eight teams, but the new format will see the most teams in the competition’s history.

Qualified teams were determined by the winners of the continental club competitions, such as the Champions League, and the confederation’s four-year rankings.

Although the tournament layout is confirmed, the full schedule is yet to be announced. 

The opening match will however take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami on June 15, 2025, while the final will on July 13, 2025 at MetLife Stadium in New York New Jersey.

Afghanistan’s national team is ready to visit Zimbabwe for an all-format bilateral series that will start on Wednesday, December 11 with the first T20I that will be played in the country’s capital, Harare.

The much-anticipated tour of Zimbabwe consists of three ODIs, three T20Is and two Test matches.

All the white-ball matches will be played in Harare. The two Test matches will be played at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

Both teams have announced their squads for the white-ball series. Sikandar Raza will lead Zimbabwe in both formats but the Test squad will be announced later.

Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the Afghan side in ODIs and Rashid Khan will captain in the T20I matches.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been added to the Afghan side for the Zimbabwe tour.

Squads are as follows:

Afghanistan Vs Zimbabwe ODI:

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah (vice-capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, AM Ghazanfar, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik

Zimbabwe: Craig Ervine, Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Joylord Gumbie, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams.

Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe T20I Squads:

Afghanistan: Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Nabi, Darwish Rasooli, Zubaid Akbari, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Nangyal Kharoti, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad and Naveen Ul Haq

Zimbabwe: Sikandar Raza, Faraz Akram, Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Wessly Madhevere, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Brandon Mavuta, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava.