Sport
ACB name squad for ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024
Afghanistan Cricket Board’s Selection Committee has finalized the Afghanistan squad for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024, which is scheduled to begin on January 19 in South Africa.
Afghanistan Future Stars’ regular skipper Naseer Khan is expected to recover in time and is set to lead the team at the mega event, with the wicket-keeper batter Numan Shah being appointed as his deputy.
Top-order batter Ali Ahmad Nasar has been recalled to the squad after missing the recently held ACC U19 Men’s Asia Cup 2024, whereas the opening batter Hassan Eisakhil, the right-arm leg-spinner Arab Gul Momand and the right-arm fast bowler Zahid Afghan are included in the Afghanistan squad after featuring at the Youth Tri-Series last week in Johannesburg.
Naseeb Khan, the ACB CEO highlighted the team’s preparation and expressed his optimism for the team to do well in the event and make the nation proud.
“The team has been part of two major events in the last month as well as has been engaged in extreme training camps over the past six months in the buildup for this mega event. We hope that the team will do well and repeat their success from the previous edition of the World Cup. We wish the team success in the upcoming event,” he said.
The squad is as follows:
Naseer Khan (Captain), Numan Shah (Vice Captain and Wicket-Keeper), Hassan Eisakhil, Khalid Taniwal, Jamshid Zadran, Wafiullah Tarakhil, Ali Ahmad Nasar, Sohail Khan Zurmati, Rahimullah Zurmati, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Arab Gul Momand, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Bashir Ahmad Afghan, Khalil Ahmad and Zahid Afghan.
Wahidullah Zadran, Nasir Hassan and Usman Shinwari are the three players included in the squad.
Afghanistan has been placed in Pool D of the competition alongside Pakistan, New Zealand and Nepal and will begin their campaign against Pakistan on Saturday, January 20 at the Buffalo Park Cricket Ground in East London.
Before stepping into the main draw of the event, Afghanistan will face England and South Africa on January 14 & 16 as part of the team’s warm up matches before the start of the main draw of the event.
Super Cola Beverages Manufacturing Company has secured the sponsorship rights of the Afghanistan U19 National Team for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup.
Sport
Omar Zawak thrash Istiqlal Kabul 5-1 in ACL
Omar Zawak secured an emphatic 5-1 victory over Istiqlal Kabul in the 80th match of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League Roshan, delivering an impressive attacking performance.
The match was played in Kabul on Tuesday. Both teams struggled to find the back of the net in the first half, which ended goalless.
However, Omar Zawak stepped up their attacking efforts in the second half, scoring five goals to take control of the match. Istiqlal Kabul managed to score just once as Omar Zawak sealed a convincing 5-1 victory.
Omar Zawak will face Ariana Khost in their next match on November 12, while Istiqlal Kabul will take on Aino Mina Kandahar on the same day.
All matches of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League are broadcast live on Ariana Television.
Sport
First Test between Afghanistan and Zimbabwe ends in a draw
Zimbabwe produced a remarkable batting display to secure a draw against Afghanistan in the first Test in Sharjah, with Craig Ervine and Wessly Madhevere scoring unbeaten centuries on the final day.
Resuming the fifth and final day at 164/3, Zimbabwe finished on 523/5 in their second innings, following their first-innings total of 504. This marked the first time in Test cricket history that a team has scored more than 500 runs in both innings of a match.
Craig Ervine remained unbeaten on 206, while Madhevere scored 100 not out, as the pair frustrated Afghanistan’s bowlers throughout the day.
Ervine, aged 41 years and 82 days, became the third-oldest player to score a double century in Test cricket.
Afghanistan had posted 514 in their first innings. Afghanistan needed early wickets to put pressure on the hosts, but Zimbabwe’s batters showed patience and discipline on a pitch offering little assistance to the bowlers.
Brian Bennett scored a half-century before Mohammad Saleem dismissed him, while debutant Antum Naqvi contributed 61 runs. Naqvi and Ervine shared a 140-run partnership before Abdul Malik broke the stand.
However, Madhevere joined Ervine and the pair put together an unbeaten 208-run partnership for the sixth wicket, the highest for that wicket in Zimbabwe’s Test history. Madhevere also registered his maiden Test century during the partnership.
The result leaves the two sides level heading into the second and final Test, which is scheduled to begin in Sharjah on November 13.
Sport
Portugal beat Afghanistan 2-0 in Dakar Youth Olympics futsal semi-finals
Afghanistan’s Under-18 futsal team missed out on a place in the gold medal match at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games after suffering a 2-0 defeat to Portugal in the semi-finals on Monday.
Portugal took the lead through Joao Carvalho, who capitalised on a goalkeeping error by Afghanistan’s Ahmad Esmaeili to score into an unguarded net from inside his own half.
Diego Ferreira doubled Portugal’s advantage before half-time, putting the European side firmly in control of the match.
Afghanistan pushed hard to get back into the game in the second half, creating several opportunities to reduce the deficit. However, they were unable to find the net, with Portugal goalkeeper Bernardo Borges making several important saves.
The victory sends Portugal into the gold medal match, while Afghanistan will now compete for the bronze medal at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games.
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