KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan suffered a major setback in the ongoing ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 as fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq was ruled out of the tournament due to a lingering shoulder injury, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said on Monday.
In a statement, the ACB said Naveen had not been declared fit by the medical team and would therefore not take part in the remaining fixtures.
“He is still recovering from a shoulder injury and has not been declared fit by the ACB medical team to participate in the remaining matches. Naveen will continue to undergo intensive treatment and rehabilitation until he is fully fit,” the board said.
The ACB announced that emerging pacer Abdullah Ahmadzai, who was previously in the reserves, has been added to the main squad. Ahmadzai made his international debut against the United Arab Emirates in the recent T20I tri-series and is considered one of Afghanistan’s promising new bowlers.
“The ACB wishes Naveen-ul-Haq a speedy recovery and extends its best wishes to Abdullah Ahmadzai for the matches ahead,” the statement added.
Naveen, 25, last featured for Afghanistan in December 2024 during a T20I against Zimbabwe. He is a regular on the global franchise circuit, having participated in the SA20 earlier this year for Durban’s Super Giants and the Major League Cricket (MLC) in the United States, where he helped MI New York lift the title.
He announced his retirement from One Day International (ODI) cricket in 2023 to focus on the shorter formats.
The setback comes despite Naveen being named in the Asia Cup squad after missing the UAE tri-series, where Afghanistan lost the final to Pakistan. His replacement, Ahmadzai, has played only one T20I to date but has shown promise in domestic cricket, with 15 wickets in 11 professional T20 matches.
Afghanistan have made a strong start to their Asia Cup campaign, thrashing Hong Kong by 94 runs in the tournament opener in Dubai. Their next two group-stage fixtures are against Bangladesh on 16 September in Abu Dhabi and Sri Lanka on 18 September.
The squad, led by Rashid Khan, includes a blend of experienced players such as Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Gulbadin Naib, alongside youngsters Noor Ahmad and Darwish Rasooli.
With Naveen unavailable, Afghanistan will rely on Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik and all-round options in Azmatullah Omarzai and Karim Janat to spearhead the pace attack.
Afghanistan’s squad for Asia Cup 2025
Rashid Khan (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, AM Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdullah Ahmadzai.
