Afghanistan will take on Pakistan in the first match of the UAE T20I Tri Series. This article provides details about Afghanistan’s Playing 11 vs Pakistan for the first match of the series.
Afghanistan Playing 11 vs Pakistan- UAE T20I Tri Series 2025, Match 1:
Openers: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran
Afghanistan has been a force to reckon with in white ball cricket in the last few years and has got the better of major Test-playing nations, including Pakistan, the team that they are going to face in the tri-series opener.
The Afghans got the better of their neighbors in the 2023 ODI World Cup, which was followed by a 2-1 series win in T20 format against Pakistan, and in the semi-final of the Asian Games the very same year.
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Although the Rashid Khan-led side hasn’t played T20I cricket this year, they would be confident of outplaying Pakistan in all three departments of the game in the tri-series opener.
The Afghans will bank on the fact that they have a good blend of youth and expierence with players having a taste of playing in different T20 leagues around the world.
The team will open the innings against Pakistan with the pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, both of whom have been an integral part of the Afghan team for the last few years.
The duo will look to get the team off to a good start in the first six overs and put pressure on the opposition.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan (c)
The openers will be followed by a middle order that possesses a lot of firepower with the presence of names like Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, and the captain, Rashid Khan.
Afghanistan has also included 24-year-old batter Sediqullah Atal, who has shown what he is capable of in the limited chances that he has had in ODI cricket and would like to replicate the same in T20I cricket.
The Afghan team management would hope for the batters to play with freedom, given the kind of batting depth that the team has with Rashid Khan walking in to bat at number eight.
Having said that, the onus will be on the top four batters to do the bulk of the scoring for Afghanistan in the upcoming match.
Bowlers: Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi
The batting team has several options in the bowling department as well, and will be led by the spinners.
Spinners who have always been Afghanistan’s strength will look to put on a strong performance in what are expected to be helpful conditions for slow bowlers.
The team would rely on the experienced trio of Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, with Nsnoor Ahmad being the fourth spinner.
As far as the team’s fast bowling is concerned, the Afghans are expected to go in with only one specialist fast bowler in the form of Fazalhaq Farooqi, who will be assisted by all-rounders Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, and Karim Janat.
