Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe: Afghanistan Suffers Injury Setbacks Ahead of ODI Series Against Zimbabwe

Afghanistan’s cricket team, currently touring Zimbabwe for a white-ball series, faces significant challenges as two of their star players, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, have been ruled out of the three-match ODI series. This comes after Afghanistan’s T20I series win, where they edged Zimbabwe 2-1 under Rashid Khan’s leadership.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed that Rahmanullah Gurbaz, known for his explosive batting, will miss the ODIs due to a Grade 2B quadriceps injury and a bony hip flexor issue. Mohammad Ishaq has been drafted as Gurbaz’s replacement.

🚨 INJURY UPDATE 🚨

Afghanistan's batting sensation, @RGurbaz_21, has been ruled out of the ODI series due to a Grade 2B quadriceps injury along with a bony hip flexor injury. Mohammad Ishaq has been named as his replacement for the series.

Additionally, after careful… pic.twitter.com/vBmn16fTJo

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) December 17, 2024

The team management decided to rest the star spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman to ensure his complete recovery from a quadriceps injury, emphasizing that he won’t be rushed back into action.

The series opener, scheduled for Tuesday at Harare Sports Club, saw a delayed start due to persistent rain. Afghanistan heads into the ODIs with an impressive record, having won 18 out of their 28 encounters against Zimbabwe.

With rain playing a role and key players absent, Afghanistan will rely on their depth and resilience to maintain their dominance in the format.

Afghanistan Squad:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah, Sediqullah Atal, Mohammad Ishaq, Darwish Rasooli, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Ikram Alikhil, Abdul Malik, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran, and Nangeyalia Kharote, and Fareed Ahmad Malik.