The tournament, formerly known as the Emerging Teams Asia Cup, will see Afghanistan defend their title with a largely experienced squad — ten of the selected players were part of last year’s championship-winning team, including Sediqullah Atal, AM Ghazanfar, and Qais Ahmad.
Atal, who played a crucial role with a half-century in last year’s final win over Sri Lanka A, remains one of the most experienced names in the side. He is also a regular feature in the senior Afghanistan setup, having represented the country in all three formats.
The pace attack will be led by Abdollah Ahmadzai, who made his T20I debut earlier this year and featured in the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe. Mystery spinner Ghazanfar, one of Afghanistan’s brightest young talents, returns to the side after missing the T20Is against Bangladesh. Qais Ahmad, another experienced campaigner, last played for the national team in 2024.
Other notable inclusions are Bilal Sami, Zubaid Akbari, Mohammad Ishaq, and Nangeyalia Kharote — all of whom have international experience. Afghanistan A have been drawn in Pool B alongside Sri Lanka A, Bangladesh A, and Hong Kong. Their campaign begins on November 15 against Sri Lanka A, followed by matches against Bangladesh A on November 17 and Hong Kong on November 19.
Afghanistan A squad:
Darwish Rasooli (capt), Sediqullah Atal (vice-capt), Noor Rahman (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Zubaid Akbari, Imran Mir, Rahmanullah Zadran, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Nangeyalia Kharote, Farmanullah Safi, Qais Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Bilal Sami, Abdollah Ahmadzai, Faridoon Dawoodzai
Reserves: Wafiullah Tarakhil, Sediqullah Pacha, Yama Arab
