Farooqi, Naib, Janat left out of Afghanistan squad for white-ball series against Bangladesh
Mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar part of ODI squad but has been demoted to reserves in the T20I side
ESPNcricinfo staff
20-Sep-2025 • 2 hrs ago
Fazalhaq Farooqi was far from his best in the Asia Cup • ICC/Getty Images
Left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi and allrounders Gulbadin Naib and Karim Janat have been left out of Afghanistan's squads for the upcoming white-ball series against Bangladesh in the UAE.
Bashir Ahmad, the tall left-arm seamer, has made both the white-ball squads as a like-for-like replacement for Farooqi. Bashir, 20, is uncapped in international cricket and has 14 T20s so far, taking 12 wickets at an economy rate of 9.06. Top-order batter Wafiullah Tarakhil is the other new face - the 18-year-old has been picked only for the T20Is.
In the recent Shpageeza Cricket League, Tarakhil emerged as the third-highest scorer, with 298 runs in nine innings at an average of 37.25 and strike rate of 155.20.
Seamer Abdullah Ahmadzai, meanwhile returned to the main T20I side. Both Ahmadzai and Tarakhil were among the reserves for the Asia Cup, where Afghanistan failed to make it out of the league phase.
Mystery spinner AM Ghazanfar is part of the main ODI side, but has been named as a reserve player for the T20Is along with batter Rahmat Shah.
"After a long six-month break from international cricket following the ICC Champions Trophy, we are now entering a packed season with many T20I games scheduled," ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said in a statement. "This provides the team with an incredible opportunity to prepare for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup next year.
"The performances in the Asia Cup 2025 were not as expected, but ups and downs are part of the game. As always, we remain hopeful that AfghanAtalan will bounce back strongly and make our nation proud in the upcoming events."
Despite the absence of Ghazanfar for the T20Is, Afghanistan have plenty of spin depth in the form of captain Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi.
Hashmatullah Shahidi will continue to lead the ODI team, which is also similarly spin-heavy. Rashid, Nabi, Ghazanfar and Nangeyalia Kharote could prove effective in Abu Dhabi as well. Bilal Sami and Faridoon Dawoodzai were named as reserves for the ODIs.
Sharjah will host the three T20Is on October 2, 3 and 5 before the teams shift to Abu Dhabi for the three-match T20I series, which will run from October 8 to October 14. This white-ball series will complete the second part of what was originally supposed to be an all-format engagement in July 2024, comprising two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. The schedule was initially revised to include only white-ball matches, but that series, due to be played in Greater Noida, was postponed with weather conditions and Bangladesh's packed schedule in mind. The teams played the three-match ODI leg of the tour in November 2024, with Afghanistan winning 2-1.
Afghanistan had lost their most recent international fixture against Bangladesh - a T20I in the Asia Cup in Abu Dhabi - by eight runs.
Afghanistan T20I squad
Rashid Khan (capt), Ibrahim Zadran (vice-capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohamamad Ishaq (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Bashir Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Abdullah Ahmadzai.
Reserves: AM Ghazanfar and Rahmat Shah
Afghanistan ODI squad
Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah (vice-capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem Safi
Reserves: Bilal Sami and Faridoon Dawoodzai