KABUL, Afghanistan — The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the final 16-member squad for the National Blind Cricket Team, which will compete in the 2024 Blind Cricket T20 World Cup in Pakistan from November 23 to December 3.
The team selection process, overseen by the Afghanistan Blind Association in collaboration with the ACB’s Domestic Cricket Department, began two months ago with open trials conducted across Afghanistan.
Fifty players were initially shortlisted. Following a one-month training camp, the pool was narrowed to 24 players, who then participated in a second training camp at the Najibullah Tarakai Cricket Academy in Nangarhar.
After another month of preparation and intra-squad matches, the final 16 players were chosen, the cricket board said.
The final squad
The squad includes:
Abaseen Selab (Captain)
Fahim (Vice Captain)
Sharafat (Wicketkeeper)
Farmanullah, Samiullah, Abdullah, Asadullah, Ghulam Khan, Baryalai Sahil, Sardar Wali, Abdul Malik, Ajmal, Rohullah, Dawran, Ezatullah, and Zabihullah.
Nazim Jar Abdurrahimzai, ACB’s Domestic Cricket Manager, expressed confidence in the team. “We strongly support this team and facilitated their training camps very well. They are blind but highly capable, and we believe in their abilities to perform and represent Afghanistan successfully in the Blind T20 Cricket World Cup.”
The ACB said it is committed to supporting athletes with disabilities, pledging to provide resources and opportunities for them to represent Afghanistan on the international stage.
