Afghanistan at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Team preview

The 2023 World Cup will present Afghanistan with their best shot at making a mark in the 50-over World Cup so far. Their spin-heavy bowling attack will like the conditions on offer in India. They have quality batters in their side as well. The biggest of concern for them will be keeping their heads and delivering under pressure situations, which, if they are successful at doing, might cause a few major upsets in the World Cup.

Afghanistan’s ODI World Cup history

Afghanistan made their maiden men’s ODI World Cup appearance in 2015. In the two editions they have played so far, they have managed only one victory from 15 games, against Scotland. In the 2019 edition, they ran India and Pakistan close but were unable to finish off the games as they crumbled under pressure. With a lot more experience and exposure of playing in leagues around the world by their side this time around, they’d be hoping to increase their victory tally at the World Cup.

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Afghanistan at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Full squad

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Najibullah Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Riaz Hassan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rahmat Shah, Rashid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Noor Ahmad

Captain: Hashmatullah Shahidi

Coach: Jonathan Trott

Wisden Cricket Monthly’s Most Valuable Player: Rashid Khan

Subdued at the 2019 World Cup when Rashid’s six wickets cost 69 apiece and he conceded 109 in nine overs against England (the most expensive spell in the tournament’s history), the leg-spinner will pose an entirely different challenge in India, using his wealth of experience accrued across eight IPL seasons to spearhead Afghanistan’s attack. No bowler in ODI history has taken more wickets at a lower average than the 25-year-old and his record in Asia (99 wickets at 17.73) is eye-wateringly good.

Players to watch: Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran

Ever since their emergence on the world stage more than a decade ago, Afghanistan’s attempts to consistently compete with the leading nations have been hamstrung by their lack of batting resources. The mercurial Mohammad Shahzad has shown flashes of brilliance and Rahmat Shah has been a steady presence, but all too often the efforts of their bowlers have been undermined by a paucity of runs. Only once have they passed 250 at a World Cup, with seven of their 15 innings falling short of 200.

The emergence of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, a pair of 21-year-old right-handers who come out hard against the new ball, should go a long way to rectifying that. 

Read the piece on Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran in issue 71 of the Wisden Cricket Monthly here.

Afghanistan at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Predicted XI

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Naveen-ul-Haq

Afghanistan at the 2023 Cricket World Cup: Full fixtures list

Saturday, October 7: Bangladesh v Afghanistan, HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala – 10:30am
Wednesday, October 11: India v Afghanistan, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi – 2pm
Sunday, October 15: England v Afghanistan, Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi – 2pm
Wednesday, October 18: New Zealand v Afghanistan, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai – 2pm
Monday, October 23: Pakistan v Afghanistan, MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai – 2pm
Monday, October 30: Afghanistan v Sri Lanka, MCA International Stadium, Pune – 2pm
Friday, November 3: Netherlands v Afghanistan, BRSABVE Stadium, Lucknow – 2pm
Tuesday, November 7: Australia v Afghanistan, Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai – 2pm
Friday, November 10: South Africa v Afghanistan, Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad – 2pm

A full preview of the 2023 World Cup appears in issue 71 of Wisden Cricket Monthly.