Afghanistan will begin their preparations for the forthcoming World Cup with an ODI series against Scotland at Grange Cricket Club in Edinburgh on Wednesday. Afghanistan will be led by newly-appointed captain Gulbadin Naib where he faces his first real challenge ahead of World Cup. Nevertheless, Afghanistan will be looking as favorites against Scotland as they have plenty of experience in the top-order with the likes of Mohammad Shahzad, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah. While Asghar Afghan and Najibullah Zadran will play a key role in the middle-order. The onus of picking wickets will be on Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Dawlat Zadran. While Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi will miss out this game after participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Scotland, on the other hand, will be led by Kyle Coetzer who has impressed everyone in their last ODI match against England where they won that match by six runs where Calum MacLeod scored 140 (not out) against the strong England side. He will be the key player against Afghanistan, along with their opening pair Kyle Coetzer and Matthew Cross. With the likes of George Munsey and Richie Berrington in the middle-order can help Scotland to score a competitive total against the Afghan side. However, they might feel difficult to play against Afghan spinners.
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Wicket-Keeper: Mohammad Shahzad (9.5 credits)
The right-handed explosive batsman's record against Scotland has been excellent where he scored 352 runs in just eight innings at an average of 50.28 along
Afghanistan will begin their preparations for the forthcoming World Cup with an ODI series against Scotland at Grange Cricket Club in Edinburgh on Wednesday. Afghanistan will be led by newly-appointed captain Gulbadin Naib where he faces his first real challenge ahead of World Cup. Nevertheless, Afghanistan will be looking as favorites against Scotland as they have plenty of experience in the top-order with the likes of Mohammad Shahzad, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah. While Asghar Afghan and Najibullah Zadran will play a key role in the middle-order. The onus of picking wickets will be on Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Dawlat Zadran. While Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi will miss out this game after participating in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Scotland, on the other hand, will be led by Kyle Coetzer who has impressed everyone in their last ODI match against England where they won that match by six runs where Calum MacLeod scored 140 (not out) against the strong England side. He will be the key player against Afghanistan, along with their opening pair Kyle Coetzer and Matthew Cross. With the likes of George Munsey and Richie Berrington in the middle-order can help Scotland to score a competitive total against the Afghan side. However, they might feel difficult to play against Afghan spinners.
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Wicket-Keeper: Mohammad Shahzad (9.5 credits)
The right-handed explosive batsman's record against Scotland has been excellent where he scored 352 runs in just eight innings at an average of 50.28 along with a century and one half-century against Scotland. Looking at the lack of bowling attack of Scotland he is expected to score big looking at his stats.
Batsman: Rahmat Shah (8.5 credits)
Experienced middle-order batsman Shah will be the key player if the top-order fails to score. Although, Shah's record against the Scottish side has been excellent too where he scored 171 runs in five innings at an average of 42.75 with a century to his name.
All-Rounder: Gulbadin Naib (8.5 credits)
The newly appointed skipper will play a huge role in the lower-order if he gets an opportunity to bat, however, his bowling at the slog overs has proven to be an effective one where he picked seven wickets in his six matches against Scotland at an economy of just 5.
Bowler: Mujeeb Ur Rahman (8.5 credits)
His IPL stint with Kings XI Punjab has been over and he will be looking forward to the forthcoming World Cup where he has the great opportunity to prepare for the World Cup. Moreover, Ur Rahman has a high chance of picking more wickets against the Scottish side as they struggle against the spinners. Ur Rahman has picked two wickets in one match against Scotland at an economy of 4.70.
Captain: Mohammad Shahzad
Vice-Captain: Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Predicted Playing XI:
Scotland: Kyle Coetzer (C), Matthew Cross (WK), Calum MacLeod, Richie Berrington, George Munsey, Michael Leask, Safyaan Sharif, Mark Watt, Alasdair Evans, Tom Sole, Brad Wheal
Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib (C), Samiullah Shenwari, Najibullah Zadran, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Dawlat Zadran, Aftab Alam, Hamid Hassan
