World Cup qualification in mind for Sri Lankan in Afghan series

by Rex Clementine

With only eight teams earning automatic qualification for next year’s 50 over World Cup in India, Sri Lanka have an opportunity to boost their chances of going through when they take on Afghanistan in a three match series starting on Friday at Pallekele. All three games will be played in the hills and the Afghans arrived in Colombo on Tuesday.

All eyes will be obviously on champion leg-spinner Rashid Khan, but another wrist spinner – Noor Ahmed could steal the limelight this time around. The chinaman bowler is no stranger to Sri Lanka having played in the Lanka Premier League. His bowling is quite impressive as he rarely sends down a bad ball and has a well disguised googly. But what is more intriguing is his age as he was 15 when Galle Gladiators first unleashed him. Currently 17, his maturity for a teenager makes people look at him suspiciously.

Noor Ahmed is yet to make his ODI debut. Although he has had quite an impact in league cricket all over the world, it remains to be seen how effective he’d be in the 50 over format where the challenges are different from the 20 over game.

Also named in the squad is all-rounder Gulbadin Naib.

“The selectors have included some young faces for the series which is a good sign for us leading into the ICC Cricket World Cup next year. The series is vital for us in terms of our qualification for the mega event next year and I am sure the squad carries enough strength to do well when they get to the field,” Naseeb Khan, the CEO of Afghanistan Cricket Board said in a statement.

Sri Lanka are yet to announce their squad for the series. Their squad is expected to be similar to what featured in the recent World Cup in Australia. Former captain Dinesh Chandimal is expected to be back in the side having missed the World Cup due to injury.

The series gets underway on Friday. The second and third games will be played on Sunday and Wednesday respectively.

Afghanistan ODI squad:

Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah (vice-capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Gulbadin Naib, Ibrahim Zadran, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Najibullah Zadran, Noor Ahmad, Rashid Khan, Riaz Hassan, Shahidullah Kamal, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zia-ur-Rehman