Afghanistan Players (Source: AFP Photos)
Afghanistan will face Zimbabwe once again, this time for the final of the ODI Tri Series in the UAE. The Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe match will take place on Saturday (October 23), scheduled to get underway at 5 PM IST.
Afghanistan recently met Zimbabwe at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium for Match 2 of the ongoing Tri-nation series. There, Afghanistan posted 294, batting first, and bundled Zimbabwe out for 136. Zimbabwe lasted 38.4 overs before losing all ten wickets.
Let’s take a look at how Afghanistan's playing XI could form against Zimbabwe for the ODI Tri Series in the UAE final.
Top-Order: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal
Afghanistan heavily rely on their top three, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Sediqullah Atal taking the positions. While Gurbaz and Zadran often make the bulk of the runs, Atal too has seen success against Zimbabwe of late.
In their previous meeting, Atal smashed a well-crafted 110-ball 102 to win the Player of the Match award. Zadran too made 90 off 96 balls in the same match, with nine fours and two sixes.
Middle Order & All-Rounders: Rahmat Shah (C), Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan
Captain Rahmat Shah remained not out on 67 in Afghanistan’s previous match against a spiritless Bangladesh. He helped his team chase down a below-par 161-run target within 35.3 overs with seven wickets in hand.
Hashmatullah Shahidi, who remained not out on 36 in the same match, will bat at No. 5. He will be followed by three very well-known all-rounders across the world: Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan.
Rashid, in particular, was in the spotlight, as he won the player of the match award against Bangladesh for returning excellent figures of 8.2-0-31-4.
Bowlers: Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Yamin Ahmadzai
Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar has been extremely economical in this Tri-nation series. He claimed 1/21 in seven overs against Zimbabwe and gave up just 12 runs in five overs against Bangladesh.
Fazalhaq Farooqi, who picked up 2/15 off his five overs against Zimbabwe, was rested for the Bangladesh match. He is likely to return to the playing XI to pair with Yamin Ahmadzai, who took 2/21 in their previous match.
Afghanistan Playing XI vs Zimbabwe – Final, ODI Tri Series In UAE 2026
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah (C), Hashmatullah Shahidi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Yamin Ahmadzai
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