ICC World Cup 2019: Strongest Afghanistan Playing XI

The rise of the Afghanistan cricket team has been like a fairytale. The team played its first ODI match in the year 2009 and 10 years later, it will be making its 2nd appearance in the ODI World Cup. They have also achieved test status and possess immense talent in their side.

However, their journey in the ICC World Cup 2019 will not be that easy as they will be up against the best cricket teams of the world. Also, Afghanistan's key strength is their spinners but the World Cup will be played in swing friendly English conditions.

Afganistan's 2019 World Cup campaign will kick off on 1st June 2019 against Australia and before that the Blue Tigers will play 9 ODI matches which will help them finalize their final playing XI for the World Cup.

With the World Cup just 4 months away, let's look at the strongest possible Afghanistan playing XI for the global tournament.

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Openers - Mohammad Shahzad and Javed Ahmadi

Mohammad Shahzad scored a brilliant hundred against India in Asia Cup 2018

Afghanistan's opening pair has a solid combination of attack and defense. On one side, they have the explosive Mohammad Shahzad who smashes more boundaries than the singles he takes and provides the team a blistering start. And on the other end, they have the cool Javed Ahmadi who builds the innings patiently.

Shehzad and Ahmadi have opened the innings several times for Afghanistan and they seem to be the best possible opening combination available with the team at the moment. While, Mohammad Shahzad holds the record for the most ODI centuries by an Afghan player, Javed Ahmadi has registered 7 half-centuries to his name in the format.

Both the openers will have to play consistently in order to boost Afghanistan's chances of progressing in the World Cup.

Middle Order - Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Asghar Afghan

Rahmat Shah has the highest ODI batting average for an Afghan batsman

The middle order that is the number 3, number 4 and number 5 batsmen of the playing XI should be Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi and Asghar Afghan, respectively.

Rahmat Shah is the 2nd most successful Afghan batsman when it comes to hitting centuries in ODIs with three hundreds to his name and he also has the highest ODI batting average (36.44) for an Afghan batsman in ODIs. Rahmat has played vital knocks for his team at number 3 and so, he has most likely cemented his spot in the team.

Hashmatullah Shahidi's knock of 97* against Pakistan in the 2018 Asia Cup would still be fresh in the minds of cricket fans and that night, Shahidi showed how much talent he possesses and why he is so important for the team.

Asghar Afghan is the captain of the Afghanistan ODI team but the cool-headed captain has failed to perform well with the bat. The Afghanistan team will definitely not change their captain just months before the World Cup and so, the skipper should try to get back in form in the 9 matches he will play ahead of the tournament.

All-rounders - Mohammad Nabi and Samiullah Shenwari

Mohammad Nabi will be the key player for the team

Mohammad Nabi is one of the most popular Afghan cricketers and the spin bowling all-rounder has earned that fame for his numerous match-winning performances at the international level. Nabi has played the most ODI matches for Afghanistan and so, he has the experience of playing in every situation of the game. The former skipper has played several game-changing innings down the order along with scalping important wickets with his off-spin and so, he will be the key player for the team in the World Cup.

Samiullah Shenwari was not a part of the Asia Cup 2018 but given the incredible amount of experience he has, the Afghanistan team should bring him back for the World Cup. Shenwari has represented Afghanistan in 77 ODIs and the 31-year-old has 1,985 runs and 44 wickets to his name. His six-hitting ability and witty leg-spin makes him a phenomenal all-rounder in the ODI format.

Spin bowlers - Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman

The young spinners will have a lot of responsibilities on their shoulders

Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are the main reasons behind Afghanistan's rise in international cricket and the spin-bowling duo will once again be shouldering the responsibilities of their nation when they don the Afghanistan jersey in the 2019 World Cup.

Leg-spinner Rashid Khan is the most successful Afghan bowler in ODI format with 118 wickets in just 52 matches. Rashid has picked 4 five-wicket hauls in ODIs and has a miserly economy rate of just 3.90. His best performance in ODIs came up against Windies when Khan picked 7 wickets giving away only 18 runs. He will be the player to watch out for in the ICC World Cup 2019.

His partner, Mujeeb is a mystery spinner who was playing the ICC U-19 World Cup last year. Mujeeb's performances helped his team reach the semi-finals of the tournament and the Afghanistan cricket fans will be hoping for the same performance when he represents the senior team in the World Cup.

Fast bowlers - Aftab Alam and Sayed Shirzad

Aftab Alam will be the team's main fast bowler

The importance of the pace bowlers will increase in the ICC World Cup as it will be played in English conditions and so, the role of Afghan pacers will be key in their team's success.

The Afghan team had dropped senior pacers Dawlat Zadran and Shapoor Zadran for the Asia Cup and so, expect the selectors to keep them away from the team in the near future as well.

Aftab Alam was the team's lead pacer in the 2018 Asia Cup and the fast bowler impressed one and all with his accurate bowling. He will have the support of the 24-year-old Sayed Shirzad who is yet to play an ODI but had impressed in the Afghanistan Premier League. Shirzad had represented Afghanistan in 3 T20Is earlier where he scalped 7 wickets in 3 matches with his left-arm medium pace. In the APL, he finished 2nd in the list of the highest wicket-takers, picking up 16 wickets in 8 matches.