The second edition of the Green Afghanistan One-Day Cup, a domestic 50-over competition in Afghanistan, started on April 29, with the number of participating teams increasing from three last year to four. This is how the four squads line up this time around.
The Green Afghanistan One-Day Cup is an initiative of the Afghanistan Cricket Board to promote the cultivation of plants in the country along with providing a suitable platform to the Afghan cricketers to prepare themselves for the international stage.
The first edition of the tournament was held last year with three teams – Hindukush Strikers, Pamir Legends, and Maiwand Defenders. This year, they have added a fourth team comprised of Under-19 players, known as Junior Champions. The objective behind it is to allow the promising youngsters a stage to compete against the experienced pros so that they can better and smoother transitions to the senior level.
The second edition of the tournament, which is scheduled from April 29 to May 17, has already started, with all matches being played at the Khost Cricket Stadium. All teams will face each other twice in a round-robin format followed by a final between the top two teams.
The roster of players selected to play in the tournament includes several mainstays of the Afghanistan senior national team like Najibullah Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, and several others.
The Squads
Hindukush Strikers: Darwish Rasooli, Ibrahim Zadran, Ihsanullah Janat, Najibullah Zadran (c), Shabir Noori, Usman Ghani, Karim Janat, Khalil Gurbaz, Ziaur Rahman, Afsar Zazai (wk), Abdul Rahman, Amir Hamza, Dawlat Zadran, Nijat Masood.
Pamir Legends: Bahir Shah, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Tahir, Riaz Hassan, Shawkat Zaman, Gulbadin Naib, Rahmat Shah (c), Shahidullah Kamal, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Ahmad Zahir (wk), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Abdul Baqi, Fareed Ahmad, Sayed Shirzad, Zahir Khan.
Maiwand Defenders: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Nasir Jamal, Noor Ali Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Bahar Shinwari, Hayatullah Nasiri, Samiullah Shinwari, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Aftab Alam, Qais Ahmad, Wafadar Momand, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zia ur Rehman
Junior Champions: Gulzar Khan, Hizbullah Durrani, Jamshid Zadran, Khalid Taniwal, Mohammad Haroon (c), Sohail Khan, Akram Mohammadzai, Ali Ahmad, Kamran Hotak, Suliman Arabzai, Nasir Hassan (wk), Noman Shah (wk), Allah Mohammad, Bashir Ahmad, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Jamil Shinwari, Khalil Ahmad, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Yama Arab.
