Asghar Afghan back in Afghanistan WC squad after being sacked as Skipper

Guess the name to be called back after 9 year hiatus

Recently removed from captaincy duties by selection panel ex-skipper Asghar Afghan found a way into the competent looking Afghanistan's 15 man squad for the ICC Cricket WC. Afghanistan will play their first game against Australia on June 1.

The ACB had earlier named 23 prospects for the mega event starting 30 May in England. This squad is a slashing of 8 names from that list. As expected Gulbadin Naib the medium pace all-rounder will lead the troops while Rashid Khan has been named deputy. The most interesting selection was that of pace bowler Hamid Hassan who has been recalled after a 9-year gap.

Chairman of Selectors, Dawlat Khan Ahmadzai said after announcing the squad "It is has been a six-month preparation process for the ICC Cricket World Cup. The mission is to play inspirational cricket in the tournament; I know there are strong teams but we will do our level best to achieve our goals."

"We hope to play great cricket without any fear and with a fighting spirit in the tournament," said the Chief Selector.

The discontent

Days before the selection meeting premier spinners Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi had gone public with their discontent for changing leadership roles before such an important event. Both opined that Afghanistan had made substantial strides under Asghar.

The small nation has been an inspirational case study in coming out of a deadly terror war and proving themselves on the biggest stage. Guys like Rashid Khan can spin a web around the best of batsmen as evident from his numero uno T20I rankings.

Ikram Alikhil, Karim Janat and Sayed Shirzad were named as reserve players who toured South Africa with the training squad. They will come into the reckoning in case of injuries to first-choice names.

15 man WC Squad: Gulbadin Naib (C), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Noor Ali Zadran, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Najibullah Zadran, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan and Mujeeb ur Rahman.