There will be a competition with Afghanistan west indies In the first match of the three-match T20 series of the West Indies tour of Afghanistan. This article provides details about the playing 11 of Afghanistan and West Indies for the upcoming match.
Afghanistan vs West Indies Playing XI – Afghanistan vs West Indies 2026:
Openers: Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK)
Afghanistan would like to make a winning start to the three-match T20 series against West Indies with a win in the opening match.
For this to happen, the onus will be on the openers to set a good platform for the other batsmen, thereby putting pressure on the opposition bowlers.
The pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, who are set to pair with them at the top of the order, will look to play their part.
Along with this, both the batsmen would also like to make important individual contributions and gain confidence for the upcoming matches.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Umarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan (captain).
Players like Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib will form Afghanistan’s middle order, each of whom has the ability to take the game away from the opposition.
All eyes will be on Sediqullah Atal, who has impressed everyone in his short international career so far and he will look to carry it forward in this match.
Ata will be supported by Darwish Rasooli, who will look to put in a strong performance, and Azmatullah Umarzai, who has been in good form over the last two years.
It will be interesting to see what kind of approach the Afghan batsmen adopt, given that the team has depth in their batting lineup, which could lead them to attack right from the first ball.
Bowlers: Noor Ahmed, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqui
As far as Afghanistan’s bowling lineup for the upcoming match is concerned, it will once again include multiple spin bowling options.
The attack will be led by captain Rashid Khan, who will be entrusted with the responsibility of leading from the front and will be expected to support Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Mohammad Nabi and Noor Ahmed.
The fast bowling department of the team will be handled by Azmatullah Omzai, Gulbadin Naib and Fazalhaq Farooqui.
It is expected that Afghan will have at least seven bowlers which will make their job a little easier.
West Indies vs Afghanistan Playing XI – Afghanistan vs West Indies 2026:
Openers: Brandon King (captain), Johnson Charles (wicketkeeper)
West Indies have selected a young squad for this series, missing some regular names like Jason Holder and captain Shai Hope, while the latter is fulfilling his prior commitments.
Having said that, the team management expects the players to deliver spirited performances in their respective departments.
The openers will be supported to give the team a good start, so that the middle-order batsmen can get a chance to make it longer against the strong Afghan bowling lineup.
The pair of captain Brandon King and Johnson Charles will look to put in a strong effort both in partnership and as individual batsmen.
Middle-order batsmen and all-rounders: Casey Carthy, Alick Athanazye, Shimron Hetmyer, Justin Greaves
The Windies openers will be followed by a middle order that includes names like Casey Carthy, Alec Athanaz and Shimron Hetmyer, all of whom can be match-winners if they perform well on any given day in white-ball cricket.
Two of the three names mentioned above are comparatively new to international cricket, which means Hetmyer will have to take the responsibility and control the West Indies innings in the middle overs, both while batting first and while chasing the target.
Hetmyer will also be looking for support from other batsmen to deal with the spin challenge that Afghanistan will pose to the West Indies in the first game, where they will have four spinners.
If Maroon’s team is successful in putting in a strong performance with the bat and negating the threat of Afghanistan’s spin bowling, their chances of victory will increase.
Bowlers: Gudakesh Moti, Matthew Forde, Khary Pierre, Shamar Joseph, Jayden Seales
If we talk about the bowling attack of the Windies for the upcoming match, it may look unlike their opponent with only two spinners expected to feature in the playing eleven.
Gudakesh Moti, who has impressed with the ball in recent times, will lend himself to taking care of the team’s spin bowling arsenal. Moti will be supported by Khary Pierre as the second specialist spinner.
As far as West Indies’ fast bowling is concerned, it will have four fast bowlers and Justin Greaves will be the fast bowling all-rounder.
Jaden Seals, Shamar Joseph and Matthew Ford will be the other three pace bowlers, with Seals starting things off.
