Asia Cup 2025: Predicting Afghanistan playing XI vs Hong Kong, Match 1

The Asia Cup 2025 will begin on September 9 with Afghanistan taking on Hong Kong at the Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi. This is a Group B match, which also features Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.

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Meanwhile, India, Pakistan, Oman, and the UAE will make up Group A of the Asia Cup 2025. Group A’s first match will be between India and the UAE on September 10 and will be played in Dubai.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan will be coming into this Asia Cup 2025 match after losing the final of the tri-series to Pakistan in Sharjah. They performed well to reach the summit clash but were completely dominated by the green shirts.

Predicted Afghanistan playing XI vs. Hong Kong, Match 1 of Asia Cup 2025

Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Sediqullah Atal are likely to open the innings for Afghanistan, with Gurbaz also keeping wickets. Both are known for their aggressive batting styles, with Gurbaz having 1781 runs in 71 T20Is with one century and a strike rate of 132.71. Atal, on the other hand, has 250 runs in 13 T20Is with two fifties.

The middle order of the Afghanistan side is more or less settled. Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Darwish Rasooli, and Azmatullah Omarzai are set to handle the pressure in the middle order. Zadran has 1299 runs in 49 T20Is with 10 fifties, while Karim Janat has 750 runs in 72 games with four fifties. Darwish Rasooli has 149 runs in 13 games, while Omarzai has 512 runs and 32 wickets to his name in 52 games.

Apart from Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan will bolster the lower-order batting. Nabi has 2249 runs in 136 games with six fifties at a strike rate of 135.23 and has 101 wickets with an economy of 7.25. Rashid Khan is the highest wicket-taker for Afghanistan in T20Is with 168 scalps in 99 games with a best of 5/3 and economy of 6.06. He can also tonk the ball, as he has 522 runs with a 130.17 strike rate.

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Coming to the bowling side, Noor Ahmad and Mujeeb Ur Rahman will be the two specialist spinners, and Fazalhaq Farooqi will be the lone pacer. Mujeeb has 65 wickets, while Noor has 12 wickets so far in their T20I careers. Farooqi has taken 59 wickets in 47 games.

Afghanistan Predicted playing XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Darwish Rasooli, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (C), Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

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