Hazratullah Zazai Archives

Hazratullah Zazai replaces injured spinner in Afghanistan squad

Afghanistan have announced top-order batter Hazratullah Zazai as the replacement for injured off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman featured in Afghanistan’s tournament opener against Uganda, however, a recurrence of the index finger injury kept him out of the following games against New Zealand and Papua New Guinea (PNG).

The off-spinner also missed the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 due to the same injury and is now out of the ongoing tournament after confirmation from the ICC.

The ICC Event Technical Committee approved Afghanistan’s request to replace the off-spinner with Zazai, who was with the squad as a travelling reserve.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Zazai played the last of his 43 T20Is in February against Sri Lanka. He has scored 1138 runs in the format at a strike rate of 133.09.

It is worth mentioning here that Afghanistan qualified for the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup 2024 after emerging victorious in all three of their fixtures in the group stage.

They are leading Group C standings of the 20-team tournament with six points, closely followed by West Indies, who boasts a similar record but an inferior net run rate.

Afghanistan Squad for T20 World Cup

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Ishaq, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan (c), Nangyal Kharoti, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik

READ: Ruthless New Zealand decimate Uganda to register first win in T20 World Cup

Fazalhaq, Zazai power Afghanistan to level the series against Bangladesh

MIRPUR: Afghan batters Hazratullah Zazai and Usman Ghani played match-winning knocks after the bowlers wreaked havoc on Bangladesh’s batting line-up to help their side beat the hosts by eight wickets and level the series, here on Saturday.

Set to chase a paltry 116, Afghanistan managed to seal the victory in the 18th over despite an unwanted start as the touring side lost the opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz cheaply for four.

Zazai and Ghani then put on a solid 99-runs partnership for the second wicket and set the foundation of the victory. The pair appeared solid as both batters were scoring the runs swiftly before Ghani departed in the 16th over after scoring 47.

The right-handed batter, who missed his well-deserved half-century by a mere three runs, faced 48 deliveries; smashing five boundaries and a six.

His partner, Zazai, on the other hand, carried his bat till the end and scored a spectacular half-century. He scored an unbeaten 59 off just 45 balls with the help of three boundaries and five sixes.

For Bangladesh, Mahmudullah and Mahedi Hasan picked up a wicket each.

Batting first, Bangladesh’s batting line-up failed completely as the home side could only manage to score a mere 115/9 in the allotted 20 overs.

Mushfiqur Rahim, who was playing his 100th T20I, fought hard with his gritty knock of 30 runs, while the rest of the batters seemed clueless in front of the Afghan bowling attack.

For Afghanistan, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai led the way with three wickets each, while Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi struck out a batter each.

READ: Bad light interrupts second day’s play after Pakistan declare at 476/4

Zazai to join Peshawar Zalmi’s practice session: Sources

KARACHI: The left-handed Afghan explosive batter – Hazratullah Zazai has recovered from COVID-19 and is likely to join Peshawar Zalmi’s practice session today.

As per the details, Zalmi will hold a practice session for their upcoming matches including tomorrow’s clash against Lahore Qalandars at National Stadium Karachi.

Zazai, who contracted the virus earlier this week may also be available for Zalmi for the upcoming matches.

Furthermore, reports also suggest that the English pacer – Saqib Mahmood will arrive in Karachi tomorrow and will be able to join the squad after a mandatory three-day isolation period and a negative result. Saqib was a part of the English squad for the tour of the West Indies.

READ: West Indies thump Zimbabwe to secure 11th Place in the ICC U19 WC