Minnows Afghanistan will look to finish their campaign on a high when they take on Windies in their final ICC World Cup 2019 group stage clasg at Headingley in Leeds on Thursday. The two teams will be playing for pride as both Windies and Afghanistan have been eliminated from the tournament. Afghanistan are placed at the bottom of the table, having lost all of their eight contests while Windies are at the seventh spot with one win in eight outings.

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Let’s now take a look at Afghanistan’s predicted XI for this match -

Gulbadin Naib

Skipper Gulbadin Naib has been among the runs at the top of the order but with the ball, he has struggled against Pakistan and that stopped his team from registering their first win of the tournament. The captain will be hopeful of a better show and end the campaign on a high.

Rahmat Shah

Opner Rahmat Shah struck a brisk 35 off 43 deliveries in the last game and he will hopeful of a similar performance in this game. His healthy strike rate at the top also bodes well for the team. He is capable of playing long innings, something Afghanistan have lacked in the tournament.

Hashmatullah Shahidi

Top-order batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi is the glue that keeps the Afghanistan top-order together. He has been in decent run-scoring form but he hasn’t been able to convert them into big innings. Shahidi will look for one final flourish against Windies.

Asghar Afghan

Former skipper Asghar Afghan turned back the clock in stunning style and struck a 35-ball 42, including three boundaries and two sixes. He held the innings together after the fall of early wickets against Pakistan and he will be one of the first names on the team sheet for this match.

Mohammad Nabi

All-rounder Mohammad Nabi couldn’t do much with the bat in the last game but with the ball, he was at his stunning best. In 10 overs, he gave away just 23 runs and picked up two crucial wickets. Expect more of the same from the wily spinner against Windies.

Samiullah Shinwari

The vastly experienced Samiullah Shinwari offers a lot with both bat and ball and that makes him a guaranteed starter for Afghanistan. Although he could do much in the last match, he will be looking to finish the campaign on a high.

Najibullah Zadran

Middle-order batsman Najibullah Zadran is perhaps the most clinically gifted Afghanistan batsman. He struck a fine innings of 42 off 54 balls to take Afghanistan to a more than respectable total against Pakistan. He provides steel to the middle-order and the team will expect more of the same from him against Windies.

Ikram Ali Khil (wk)

Wicket-keeper-batsman Ikram Ali Khil has had tournament to forget with the bat and behind the stumps, he has been average at best. The only reason he continues to be in the playing XI is because is the only regular keeper in the 15-member squad.

Rashid Khan

Skipper Rashid Khan will once again shoulder the responsibility of leading the Afghanistan attack. He has been among the wickets in the tournament but his economy rate has been a bit high. The fact that Rashid is a handy batsman as well down the order tips the scale in his favour.

Dawlat Zadran

Fast-bowler Dawlat Zadran is likely to take the place of Hamid Hassan in the line-up who could bowl just 2 oves against Pakistan and had to leave the field due to injury. In four matches in the tournament, he picked up six wickets and he is the favourite to return into the line-up.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman

Spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman has been in good wicket-taking form for Afghanistan and he will look to dent the Windies attack early in the innings, considering he has opened the bowling on multiple occasions in the tournament. He holds a good record against Chris Gayle as well and that battle will be the key as to which team comes out on top in the clash.

First Published: Jul 04, 2019 10:31 IST