Asia Cup 2025: Afghanistan announce 22-man Preliminary Squad for Asia Cup, Rashid Khan named Captain

Afghanistan has announced a 22-member preliminary squad for the Asia Cup 2025, which will be held in the UAE in September 2025.

Rashid Khan has been named captain, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz as vice-captain for the Afghans as they will be hoping for a strong performance in the continental competition.

The squad will partake in a two-week training camp in the UAE ahead of a T20I tri-series involving Pakistan and the UAE, which serves as preparation for the Asia Cup. After the camp, the squad will be trimmed to 15 players for the Asia Cup and tri-series.

Afghanistan is in Group B of the Asia Cup 2025, with group stage matches scheduled against Hong Kong (September 9), Bangladesh (September 16), and Sri Lanka (September 18), all in Abu Dhabi.

This squad announcement and preparations are designed for their campaigns in both the tri-series and the Asia Cup, where Afghanistan aims to perform strongly on UAE pitches suited for their spin-heavy bowling attack.

Afghanistan Squad for Asia Cup 2025

Rashid Khan will be a key figure for Afghanistan and will lead them in the Asia Cup, whereas Gurbaz is set to play an important role as well. Veteran all-rounder Mohammad Nabi is named, whereas spin sensations Allah Ghazanfar and Noor Ahmad are part of the squad as well. Pacer Naveen Ul Haq also makes a return to the side as he only plays in T20I format for his country.

Afghanistan Preliminary Squad

Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Nangyal Kharoti, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Karim Janat, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mujeeb Zadran, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen ul Haq, Farid Malik, Saleem Safi, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad.