The ACB (Afghanistan Cricket Board) has announced squad for the upcoming historic ODI series against South Africa, commences from September 18 in the UAE. Afghanistan will be without the service of Ibrahim Zadran, who has been ruled out of the series due to his ankel sprain. Top-order batter Abdul Malik has been added as the replacement of Ibrahim Zadran.

Rashid Khan has returned to the squad after missing the previous Ireland series due to injury. Darwish Rasooli, who has 7 T20I caps to his name so far, has got his maiden call-up for ODI series.

ACB CEO Mr. Naseeb Khan: “Hosting South Africa for the first time in our cricketing history is a huge milestone for Afghanistan Cricket. They are a top-quality side, and playing against them in an ODI series is something we are all excited about.”

“Our team has shown great performances in ICC events over the past two-three years, and we are focused on making our team equally competitive in bilateral cricket.” He added.

ACB Chief Selector Mr. Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil: "Mujeeb Ur Rahman continues to recover from his injury and is unavailable for selection. Ibrahim Zadran will also miss the South Africa ODIs for twisting his ankle on the edge of the New Zealand Test. However, we have included some of the top-performing youngsters in Abdul Malik and Darwish Rasooli. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar is also a talented cricketer and has demonstrated excellent skills recently and will cover for Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the series.”

Afghanistan Squad for the three-match ODI series against Ireland: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.

This is going to be the first bilateral series between Afghanistan and South Africa. All the matches will be hosted by Sharjah Cricket Stadium.