Naveen-ul-Haq returns as Afghanistan squad for ODI World Cup 2023 announced

Afghanistan on Wednesday announced its 15-man squad for ODI World Cup 2023 and will be led by Hashmatullah Shahidi. However, there were a few surprises.

Naveen-ul-Haq, the Lucknow Super Giants pacer who had an ugly spat with Virat Kohli during IPL 2023, has been recalled to the Afghanistan ODI squad for the first time in 2 years.

In a surprising move, Afghanistan left out pacer Gulbadin Naib despite him performing well in Asia Cup 2023.

Karim Janat, Sharafuddin Ashraf and Suliman Safi have also been excluded.

As expected, it's spin-heavy squad with Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad all making the cut.

Afghanistan ODI World Cup squad:

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen ul Haq.