Afghanistan announces 23-man squad for World Cup training camp

The Afghanistan Cricket Board on Friday announced a 23-man squad for the training camp in South Africa ahead of the upcoming World Cup next month.

The squad includes Asghar Afghan, who was removed as the team's captain across all formats. Gulbadin Naib will take over the reins from him in the ODI format and Rashid Khan will act as his deputy.

The training squad will participate in six practice matches during their time in South Africa before returning to Kabul where the 15-member squad will be announced for the World Cup.

"Asghar Afghan, who captained team Afghanistan for a period of around four years, achieved a lot and made the country proud, and I hope Gulbadin Naib will be able to continue his legacy at the helm of the team's affairs," Dawalt Ahmadzai, Afghanistan Cricket Board's chief selector said in a statement released by the Cricket Board.

"Gulbadin Naib is a senior player who has also led the Mis-e-Ainak regional team on many occasions and we hope that he will play a vital role in the team's future success," he added.

23-member squad for the training camp: Gulbadin Naib (c), Rashid Khan (vc), Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rahmat Shah, Mohammad Nabi, Najib Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Shapoor Zadran, Hamid Hassan, Karim Janat, Qais Ahmad, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Sayed Shirzad, Samiullah Shinwari.

Afghanistan will tour Scotland and Ireland in May to play two ODIs each. They will then meet Pakistan and England in one-off ODI before beginning their World Cup campaign against Australia on June 1 at the Bristol County Ground.