Pakistan tour to Afghanistan in Sri Lanka - ODI Series 2023: Squads, Fixtures and All you need to know

Afghanistan and Pakistan will participate in a 3 match ODI series to be played in Sri Lanka. The first ODI is slated to be played on the 22nd of August, while the 3rd and the final ODI will be played on the 26th August, 2023.

Afghanistan have named a strong squad which will be led by Hashmatullah Shahidi. The young spinner Noor Ahmad, who performed superbly in the recently concluded Lanka Premier League has been included into the squad. Rashid Khan and Mujeeb ur Rahman are also a part of the team. They will form a brilliant spin duo to trouble the Pakistani batters.

Pakistan on the other hand will be led by Babar Azam. The squad also features Saud Shakeel, who has performed well in red ball cricket recently. He will not be a part of the Asia Cup 2023 though.  Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Haris will also join the squad after a successful stint in the Lanka Premier League.

Both the teams have named a fairly strong squad and it will be highly competitive and promising 3 match ODI series between two cricket stalwarts.


Let's have a look at the squads:

Pakistan: Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Haris, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim 

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Saleem Safi, Wafadar Momand

It is a home series for Afghanistan who cannot stage international cricket in their own country because of security fears.

"These three matches are a good opportunity for us to test our players in the match situation," Azam said.

Azam is the top-ranked ODI batsman and leads a strong side that also boasts openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq -- ranked three and four respectively.

They are backed up by a potent pace attack of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf.

Afghanistan have world-class spinner Rashid Khan fit again after he withdrew from The Hundred competition in England

"Afghanistan have developed into a good side," said Azam of a team which beat Bangladesh 2-1 in an ODI series last month. 

"We are not going to take these matches lightly," said Azam, despite Pakistan having won all four ODIs against Afghanistan since the countries first met in 2012.

"We have good players who can deal with spin bowling so it is going to be an exciting series."

Afghanistan are captained by batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi and have new faces in fast bowlers Abdul Rahman, Mohammad Saleem Safi and Wafadar Momand. 

Tuesday's match is being played in Hambantota, with the remaining two in Colombo on Thursday and Saturday.

Let's have a look at the fixtures:

Tuesday, August 22: 1st ODI, Afghanistan vs Pakistan, Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota, 3pm local time.

Thursday, August 24: 2nd ODI, Afghanistan vs Pakistan, Mahinda Rajapaksa International Cricket Stadium, Hambantota, 3pm local time.

Saturday, August 26: 3rd ODI, Afghanistan vs Pakistan, R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, 3pm local time.


Live Cricket Streaming Afghanistan and Pakistan ODI Series in Sri Lanka, 2023:The live cricket streaming page which enables you to watch live cricket  - Geo-restrictions apply


*NB these predictions may be changed nearer the start of the match once the final starting teams have been announced and we will be running ‘In-Play’ features, so stay tuned.


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