Darwish Rasooli will once again captain Afghanistan A in the upcoming ACC Rising Stars Asia Cup, to be held in Doha from November 14 to 23.
The defending champions have retained ten players from last year’s victorious squad, including Sediqullah Atal, AM Ghazanfar, and Qais Ahmad. Atal, who struck a crucial half-century in last year’s final against Sri Lanka A, remains a key figure with experience across all three formats for the senior team.
Fast bowler Abdollah Ahmadzai, who recently featured in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, will spearhead the pace attack, while 19-year-old mystery spinner Ghazanfar adds depth to the spin department.
Placed in Pool B alongside Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, and Hong Kong, Afghanistan A will open their campaign against Sri Lanka A on November 15, followed by clashes with Bangladesh A and Hong Kong on November 17 and 19, respectively.
ACC Rising Stars tournament schedule:
- Nov 14 – Oman vs Pak; Ind vs UAE
- Nov 15 – Ban vs HK; Afg vs SL
- Nov 16 – Oman vs UAE; Ind vs Pak
- Nov 17 – HK vs SL; Afg vs Ban
- Nov 18 – Pak vs UAE; Ind vs Oman
- Nov 19 – Afg vs HK; Ban vs SL
- Nov 21 – Semi-finals: A1 vs B2; B1 vs A2
- Nov 23 – Final
Afghanistan A squad:
Darwish Rasooli (C), Sediqullah Atal (vice-capt), Noor Rahman (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Zubaid Akbari, Imran Mir, Rahmanullah Zadran, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Nangeyalia Kharote, Farmanullah Safi, Qais Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Bilal Sami, Abdollah Ahmadzai and Faridoon Dawoodzai.
Reserves: Wafiullah Tarakhil, Sediqullah Pacha, Yama Arab
