Afghanistan are desperate to avoid a clean sweep when they face Sri Lanka in the third and final T20I in Dambulla on Wednesday, February 21. The match starts at 7 pm IST.
Afghanistan are winless in the series so far. They lost the one-off Test by 10 wickets, were humbled in the ODI series, and have lost the first two T20Is too. The Afghans lost the first T20I by four runs and the second by 72 runs.
They are ranked tenth in the ICC T20I rankings heading into this series. The visitors had a chance to make a turnaround in the T20I series with a power-packed side at their disposal. However, they lost the two games and were outplayed in the process.
The side is led by the young Ibrahim Zadran who is the stand-in skipper for the series. Rashid Khan is not a part of this series as he is recovering from his lower back injury. His absence has been richly felt by the side.
Heading into the final T20I, the batters need to step up, especially the top-order. The likes of Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz who have not scored too many runs in the series need to be back amongst the runs and give the team a substantial total.
Also Read: MUL vs ISL Today Match Prediction – Who Will Win Today PSL Match? Match 5, PSL 2024
Afghanistan Playing 11 vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I, 2024
Hazratullah Zazai
Afghanistan decided to open with Zazai and Ibrahk zadran. The southpaw scored just one in the previous game and should look to score a big one in the final T20I. He scored just one in the previous game.
Ibrahim Zadran (C)
Zadran will open the batting with Zazai. He scored an unbeaten 67 in the first T20I and just 10 in the second game. The skipper needs a big knock in the decider.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK)
Gurbaz was moved down to three in the last game and scored just 13. He scored 13 in the first T20I as well. The keeper-batter needs to be back to his belligerent batting form.
Gulbadin Naib
Naib the big-hitter will bat at four. He batted at number three in the first game and scored 16. In the second T20I, he scored just four. He is inching closer to 1000 T20I runs.
Azmatullah Omarzai
Omarzai was out for a first-ball-duck in the last game. The all-rounder has looked like the best batter for his side since the ODI World Cup. He also scored a century in the previous ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Mohammad Nabi
Nabi is the most experienced player in this T20I side. He scored nine in the first T20I and 27 in the second. He is 19 short of 2000 T20I runs and 10 short of 100 T20I wickets. He scored 9 in the first T20i and 27 in the second.
Karim Janat
Janat scored 28 in the last game with the bat and bowled two overs with the ball for 20 runs. He is another experienced all-rounder in the lineup.
Fazalhaq Farooqi
Farooqi will lead the pace attack. He has been playing white-ball cricket continuously for the visitors. He picked up three wickets in the first T20I and one in the second. He is 15 shy of 50 T20I wickets.
Naveen-ul-Haq
Naveen will share the new ball with Farooqi. He retired from ODI cricket after the ODI World Cup and does not play Test cricket. He picked up two wickets in the first T20I and one in the second. He is seven shy of 50 T20I wickets.
Noor Ahmad
Noor will be one of the two spinners to conclude the XI. He picked one wicket in the first T20I and went wicketless in the second. He was recently charged with by the ILT20 on disciplinary grounds.
Qais Ahmad
Qais concludes the Afghanistan T20I playing XI for the final T20I against Sri Lanka. He played the first T20I and picked up a wicket but did not play the second. In Rashid and Mujeeb’s absence, he should play in the XI.
