Afghanistan vs. Ireland: First ODI Preview

Afghanistan vs. Ireland: First ODI Preview

Afghanistan will continue its 2019 World Cup preparations when they visit Ireland for the two-match ODI series against the hosts before their 2019 World Cup warm-up game against Pakistan. Moreover, Afghanistan will be looking to fine-tune their combinations after the arrival of their star players Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan from the Indian Premier League.

As for Ireland, they are coming into this match on the back of four consecutive ODI defeats from the recently concluded home tri-series. Moreover, the team management kept faith on their players and named unchanged squad for the two ODI matches against Afghanistan. However, the skipper William Porterfield will be hoping that his players can put on a better show against the Afghan bowling attack.

On the other hand, Afghanistan will be hoping to continue their winning momentum against the hosts and even after the arrival of Mohammad Nabi, who is one of the most consistent performers with both bat and ball will be hoping to deliver another solid performance and next come to Rashid Khan, third-best ODI bowler in the world and he is likely to cause plenty of troubles for the Irish batsmen.

Player Recommendations:

Wicket-Keeper: Mohammad Shahzad (9 credits)

The right-hand explosive batsman's record against Ireland in Ireland has not been good wherein seven innings he managed to score 188 runs at an average of 26.85 with two half-centuries to his name. However, looking at the Gary Wilson's recent form in recently concluded tri-series it's best to pick Shahzad from

Afghanistan will continue its 2019 World Cup preparations when they visit Ireland for the two-match ODI series against the hosts before their 2019 World Cup warm-up game against Pakistan. Moreover, Afghanistan will be looking to fine-tune their combinations after the arrival of their star players Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan from the Indian Premier League.

As for Ireland, they are coming into this match on the back of four consecutive ODI defeats from the recently concluded home tri-series. Moreover, the team management kept faith on their players and named unchanged squad for the two ODI matches against Afghanistan. However, the skipper William Porterfield will be hoping that his players can put on a better show against the Afghan bowling attack.

On the other hand, Afghanistan will be hoping to continue their winning momentum against the hosts and even after the arrival of Mohammad Nabi, who is one of the most consistent performers with both bat and ball will be hoping to deliver another solid performance and next come to Rashid Khan, third-best ODI bowler in the world and he is likely to cause plenty of troubles for the Irish batsmen.

Player Recommendations:

Wicket-Keeper: Mohammad Shahzad (9 credits)

The right-hand explosive batsman's record against Ireland in Ireland has not been good wherein seven innings he managed to score 188 runs at an average of 26.85 with two half-centuries to his name. However, looking at the Gary Wilson's recent form in recently concluded tri-series it's best to pick Shahzad from the wicket-keeper slot.

Batsman: Asghar Afghan (9 credits)

The former Afghanistan skipper is known as one of the best batsmen in the middle-order for Afghanistan and has played many match winning knocks. Moreover, his record against Ireland has been good where he played 24 innings and scored 686 runs at an average of 32.66 along with one century and three half-centuries. He is expected to play a big role in this match.

All-Rounder: Mohammad Nabi (9.5 credits)

Truly one of the best all-rounder to pick from the slot because of his consistency with the bat and ball. While looking at his stats against Ireland in Ireland he played eight matches and managed to score 136 runs at an average of 19.42 while doing so he also picked 12 wickets at an economy of just 4.00.

Bowler: Rashid Khan (10 credits)

Khan definitely going to trouble Irish batsmen with his leg-break bowling. Khan claimed 15 wickets in seven innings against the hosts in Ireland at an economy of 3.92 while doing so, he also smashed 153 runs at an average of 30.60. He will be a good pick as he has shown some all-around ability against the Irish side.

Captain: Mohammad Nabi

Vice-Captain: Rashid Khan

Predicted Playing XI:

Afghanistan: Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Asghar Afghan, Gulbadin Naib (c), Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Dawlat Zadran, Rashid Khan

Ireland: Paul Stirling, James McCollum, Andy Balbirnie, William Porterfield (c), Kevin O'Brien, Mark Adair, Gary Wilson (wk), George Dockrell, Boyd Rankin, Barry McCarthy, Tim Murtagh

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ajay Patil
Ajay Patil writes about fantasy cricket and soccer for RotoWire. He has been active in DFS cricket, NBA and soccer since 2015.
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