Afghanistan name Champions Trophy squad amid boycott calls

Afghanistan have recalled fit-again Ibrahim Zadran in their 15-man Champions Trophy squad, amid ongoing calls for teams to boycott matches against them due to the Taliban government's crackdown on women's rights since returning to power in 2021.

Afghan opener Zadran has recovered from ankle surgery to make the squad but team management decided against rushing Mujeeb Ur Rehman back into 50-overs cricket after the spinner sprained his hand last year.

Fellow spinner A M Ghaznafar has been drafted in as a like-for-like replacement for Mujeeb.

Afghanistan have brought in former Pakistan captain Younis Khan to mentor the side in what will mark their first appearance in the tournament featuring the top eight One-Day International teams in the world.

"Afghanistan have performed

exceptionally well in the past two ICC events," chairman of the Afghanistan Cricket Board Mirwais Ashraf said in a statement on Sunday.

"Their impressive performances in these two event coupled with their ODI series victories last year will undoubtedly boost their morale and help them deliver an even better campaign this time."

The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led side may be faced with some off-field distractions in Pakistan with Group B rivals England and South Africa being urged to boycott their matches.

Both the ECB and Cricket South Africa have ruled out boycotts against Afghanistan in multi-team competitions organised by the governing International Cricket Council (ICC).

They would rather follow a unified and collective approach from all ICC members, the boards said.

Afghanistan begin their campaign against South Africa in Karachi on February 21.

Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper), Ikram Alikhil (wicketkeeper), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Naveed Zadran, Farid Ahmad Malik