Afghanistan Cricket Board have announced their 15-member squad for the upcoming WT20 and the same squad will also feature in the T20I series against West Indies, starting January 19, 2026.
The squad includes some prominent names like left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi, off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, all-rounder Gulbadin Naib and right-arm pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. Both Farooqi and Gulbadin Naib were left out of the last white-ball tour of Bangladesh in October, but are back in the squad for the T20 World Cup.
Mujeeb’s inclusion has meant there was no place for mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar and he is named in the reserves, which also includes Ijaz Ahmadzai and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi. Naveen ul Haq returns after a shoulder injury had ruled him out of the Asia Cup in September. He last played for Afghanistan in a T20I against Zimbabwe in December 2024.
Afghanistan made it to the semi-final of the last T20 World Cup, in 2024, which was the first time they went that far in an ICC tournament. During that campaign they beat teams like New Zealand, West Indies and Australia before eventually losing to South Africa in the semis.
Afghanistan’s T20I series against West Indies will take place from January 19 to 22 and it provides them good experience before the main event. At the T20 World Cup, they are placed in Group D, alongside New Zealand, South Africa, UAE and Canada. Afghanistan will start their campaign against New Zealand on February 8 in Chennai.
Mohammad Nabi, who has just turned 41 has also been included in the squad, while the likes of Shahidullah Kamal and Mohammad Ishaq have also retained their places. Rashid Khan will lead the team in the mega event that will be played from February 7 to March 8. Ibrahim Zadran has been appointed his deputy
Afghanistan squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Sediqullah Atal, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Naveen Ul Haq, Mohammad Ishaq, Shahidullah Kamal, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Darwish Rasooli, Ibrahim Zadran.
