The ODI World Cup 2023 will begin on October 5. Among all the other teams, Afghanistan can upset any good team if they go all guns blazing.
The war-torn nation is playing its third ODI World Cup and won their first World Cup match against Scotland in 2015.
In 2019, they won none, and now it needs to be seen if they can win at least one game since they will be taking on some of the heavyweights of the world. The ODI World Cup Betting odds will be high for the Afghanistan team. However, before engaging in predictions, know the top 5 players to understand the team’s potential even better.
5 Players to Watch Out for in Afghanistan Squad
Afghanistan has already named its 15-man squad for the tournament, with Hashmatullah Shahidi as the skipper.
The team also has the likes of Mohammed Nabi, Rashid Khan, Naveen-Ul-Haq, Gulbadeen Naib, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
We think these five players can be the danger men for Afghanistan:
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz
- Rashid Khan
- Mohammad Nabi
- Mujeeb-Ur Rehman
- Naveen-ul-Haq
1. Rahmanullah Gurbaz:
The 21-year-old can be the real dangerman at the top of the order.
- He showed during his stint at Kolkata Knight Riders during the IPL, where he accounted for 227 runs in 11 matches.
- Don’t judge him by the numbers, as he can be very effective with the bat and go after the bowlers right from ball one.
- He has played 26 matches and scored 958 runs in his international career.
2. Rashid Khan:
Rashid Khan is not an average cricketer. In the few years he has played, he has made quite a name for himself.
- Unlike some of his countrymen, he has played cricket all across the world, playing in India, Australia, the West Indies, and Pakistan.
- He has worked on himself, turning himself into one of the best T20 cricket all-rounders. He can bat big, bowl fast, and accurately, plus he can be an excellent fielder as well.
- He has played 94 ODIs, picking up 172 wickets in the process with a career-best figure of 7/18. Moreover, he has also scored 3360 runs in ODI cricket.
- This is the reason that teams are willing to pay crores for his services in IPL.
3. Mujeeb-ur-Rehman:
Mujeeb, just like Rashid, is a street-smart spinner. He has also sharpened his bowling skills by playing white-ball cricket across the world.
- He too has learned his trade in Australia, India, Pakistan, and the West Indies, varying his pace depending on the pitch he was bowling on.
- Rehman is going to bowl in tandem with Rashid a lot, especially in the middle phase of the match. Who knows they can hunt in pairs?
- Speaking about his ODI record, he has played 66 ODIs, picking up 93 wickets for his team.
4. Mohammed Nabi:
Watch out for this old workhorse as well! The 38-year-old has fought from day one. His family moved to Peshawar so that they could skirt the Soviet invasion. It was here in Pakistan that Nabi took up cricket at the age of ten. He became a pro in rubber-ball cricket, and those skills help him to this day.
- He is an excellent all-rounder who can bowl flighted-spin deliveries at will. Moreover, he can be an excellent finisher lower down the order.
- A veteran of Afghanistan, he has represented the country in the 2010, 2012, and 2014 T20 World Cups.
- When it comes to the ODIs, he has played 147 games, accounting for 3153 runs in the process with a hundred and sixteen fifties.
5. Naveen-ul-Haq:
Naveen-ul-Haq has become quite popular in India thanks to his fight with Virat Kohli during the IPL 2023.
- But he is not a man of words, but of substance.
- He has played seven ODIs, picking up 14 wickets with a career best of 4/42.
Final Thoughts
All five of these cricketers are expected to play a crucial role if Afghanistan wants to excel in the upcoming ODI World Cup.
They will be up against big teams like India, Australia, Pakistan, and many more. For them to excel, they would need these players to fire not individually but in unison.
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