New-look Afghanistan introduce massive changes to limited-overs squads for West Indies series

In addition to the suspended duo of Mohammad Shahzad and Aftab Alam, there was no place for the fast-bowling duo of Dawlat Zadran and Hamid Hassan, and Hashmatullah Shahidi, Noor Ali Zadran and Samiullah Shinwari. Replacing them were Javed Ahmadi, Afsar Zazai, Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Ibrahim Zadran, Yamin Ahmadzai and Naveen-ul-Haq.

The changes mark yet another instance of an overhaul of the national team in the aftermath of the World Cup, which first began with the replacement of Gulbadin Naib with Rashid Khan, who took over as captain for all three formats.

The T20I squad had five changes. As was the case in the ODI team, Dawlat was left out, while Ibrahim, Ahmadzai and Ahmadi made the cut. Batsmen Fazal Niazai, Najeeb Tarakai and Shafiqullah, and uncapped 20-year-old leg-spinner Shahidullah, who was named in the T20I squad for the Bangladesh series but did not play in a game, were the others to be left out. Left-arm pacer Sayed Ahmad Shirzad, who joined the World Cup squad midway through the tournament, as replacement for Alam, and played one match, against West Indies in Leeds, was named.

While this will be Afghanistan’s first ODI assignment after the World Cup, they’ve been a lot busier in the T20I scene, taking part in the Bangladesh Twenty20 tri-series, also featuring Zimbabwe, where they picked up a win each against the two opposing nations, before sharing the trophy with the home team, following a washed out final.

Afghanistan’s series against West Indies will kick off with a three-match T20I series, with the first game taking place on 5 November. That will be followed by three ODIs, before the tour concludes with a one-off Test. All the matches will take place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun.