Why Is Allah Ghazanfar Not in Afghanistan Squad for T20 World Cup 2026?
Afghanistan have announced their squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, and one notable name missing from the main squad is Allah Ghazanfar, who has been included only in the reserves.
Rashid Khan will lead Afghanistan at the tournament, as they named a 15 member squad for the event to be held in India and Sri Lanka. The same squad will also take part in a three match T20I series against West Indies in the UAE in the build up to the World Cup.
All T20 World Cup 2026 Squads: Every Squad Named for the Upcoming ICC Tournament
Why Allah Ghazanfar name not in Afghanistan Squad
Allah Ghazanfar was not named in Afghanistan’s main squad for the T20 World Cup 2026 mainly due to his limited game time in T20Is and his form compared to other spinners.
Ghazanfar missed several international matches after suffering a fracture in his L4 vertebra during Afghanistan’s tour of Zimbabwe in October 2024. This ruled him out of the Champions Trophy 2025 and IPL 2025 with Mumbai Indians. After returning to action in 2025, he featured in only five T20Is and picked up two wickets. In ODIs, he also managed just two wickets in three matches. During the Asia Cup earlier this year, he played two matches but went wicketless. In the ongoing ILT20 2025–26, he has taken 12 wickets in 11 matches, which was not enough to push his case strongly.
At the domestic and franchise level, Ghazanfar ended 2025 with 45 wickets in 45 T20 matches. However, Mujeeb Ur Rahman had a better impact, picking up 42 wickets in 34 T20 matches in 2025 and delivering stronger performances at the international level as well. Mujeeb also took 13 wickets in nine T20Is this year, underlining his consistency.
Afghanistan’s spin attack already includes Rashid Khan as captain, Noor Ahmad, who took 86 wickets in 62 T20 innings in 2025 and finished as the second highest wicket taker that year, and Mohammad Nabi, who adds balance with his all round ability.
With limited spots available for spinners, the selection must have came down to Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Allah Ghazanfar. The selectors opted for Mujeeb, leaving Ghazanfar in the reserves for the T20 World Cup 2026.
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Afghanistan squad for T20 World Cup 2026
Rashid Khan (capt), Ibrahim Zadran (vice-capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Abdullah Ahmadzai.
Reserves: AM Ghazanfar, Ijaz Ahmadzai and Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi.
The same squad will also be used for the three match T20I series against West Indies, which will be played from January 19 to 22.
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