Pakistan opt to bat in tri-series final against Afghanistan; Muqeem replaces Mirza
Rashid Khan, among others, was back for Afghanistan after resting for the dead rubber against UAE
Danyal Rasool
07-Sep-2025 • 3 hrs ago
Rashid Khan was back for Afghanistan, as Salman Agha opted to bat • Emirates Cricket Board
Toss Pakistan opt to bat vs Afghanistan
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first against Afghanistan in the final of the T20I tri-series, in Sharjah, two days out from the start of the Asia Cup. Salman Agha, Pakistan's captain, followed the pattern that has brought success at this venue this tournament. Every game this series has been won by the side batting first.
Pakistan bolstered their spin-bowling options for the final, bringing in left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem in place of fast bowler Salman Mirza.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan, meanwhile, said it didn't matter whether they were batting first or chasing. While facing UAE in a dead rubber just before the final, Afghanistan had made a number of changes for a dead rubber on Friday, but for the final against Pakistan, reverted to the team that beat Pakistan on Tuesday.
Pakistan: 1 Sahibzada Farhan, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Fakhar Zaman, 4 Salman Ali Agha (capt), 5 Hasan Nawaz, 6 Muhammad Nawaz, 7 Mohammad Haris (wk), 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 10 Sufiyan Muqeem, 11 Abrar Ahmed
Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Darwish Rasooli, 5 Karim Janat, 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Rashid Khan (capt), 8 Mohammad Nabi, 9 AM Ghazanfar, 10 Noor Ahmad, 11 Fazalhaq Farooqi
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000