Afghanistan announced its 15-member squad for the upcoming 2023 ICC World Cup on Wednesday (September 13). Fast bowlers Naveen-ul-Haq and Azmatullah Omarzai have returned to the ODI squad for the marquee event.

Afghanistan have named a strong 15-man squad for the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup next month.

Naveen-ul-Haq returned to the Afghanistan ODI squad for the World Cup in India after a two-year break, while experienced all-rounder Gulbadin Naib is out despite a good performance in the ongoing Asia Cup.

Both players recently missed the Asia Cup due to injuries. Naveen-ul-Haq has not played a competitive game since June due to a knee injury. The right-arm pacer has also not played an ODI since January 2021. On the other hand, Omarzai played in the ODI series against Pakistan last month but missed the Asia Cup after overcoming a minor strain.

The Hashmatullah Shahidi led squad has four changes from the squad playing in the Asia Cup. In addition to Naib, players like Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Suliman Safi are also missing.

Azmatullah Omarzai returns from an injury that ruled him out of the Asia Cup, while Naveen, who last played a List A game in 2021, also returns to the squad.

Naveen has played just seven ODIs till date, picking up 14 wickets at an average of 25.42. Janat, who was recalled for the Asia Cup after a six-year break from ODI cricket, was dropped.

There are four changes in Afghanistan's World Cup squad compared to the squad that recently played in the Asian Cup. One of the biggest exclusions is experienced all-rounder Gulbadin Naib. The all-rounder, who led Afghanistan in the last edition of the ODI World Cup, missed out on the Asia Cup despite good performances.

In 4 matches, Naib took 8 wickets and scored more than 50 runs but failed to qualify for the tournament. Apart from him, Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Suliman Safi were also missing after being named in the Asia Cup squad. Janat had returned to the Afghan squad after a six-year break.

The pace attack is bolstered by the return of Naveen, and also has Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman and Omarzai.

Afghanistan World Cup squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.