Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan won the toss and opted to bat against Hong Kong in the opening clash of the Asia Cup 2025 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. This will be the sixth time that Hong Kong and Afghanistan are playing a T20I clash against each other in a T20I clash.
Captains at the toss
Yasim Murtaza (Hong Kong): We wanted to bowl first. I am happy to bowl. We worked hard to get here. We played good cricket in the qualifiers. As a captain I am looking forward to see how Kalhan Challu will do on the big stage.
Rashid Khan (Afghanistan): We would like to bat first. It looks like a good wicket to put runs on the board, good total on the board will help the bowlers. In T20 it does not matter if you win the toss or not, but you have to give yourself the best opportunity to pick wickets in the middle period. It (tri-series final) is already behind us, we are well focused on the game today, even if we had won the final we would have focused on the game today and how to win. Just one change from the final - Darwish misses out and Gulbadin is back.
Afghanistan and Hong Kong T20I head-to-head
Hong Kong and Afghanistan have faced each other in five T20 matches. Out of these, Hong Kong have won two, while Afghanistan have emerged victorious in three.
Afghanistan vs Hong Kong Playing XI
Afghanistan (Playing XI): Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
Hong Kong (Playing XI): Zeeshan Ali(w), Babar Hayat, Anshuman Rath, Kalhan Challu, Nizakat Khan, Aizaz Khan, Kinchit Shah, Yasim Murtaza(c), Ayush Shukla, Ateeq Iqbal, Ehsan Khan
Squads
Hong Kong Squad: Zeeshan Ali(w), Babar Hayat, Nizakat Khan, Anshuman Rath, Martin Coetzee, Yasim Murtaza(c), Aizaz Khan, Nasrulla Rana, Ehsan Khan, Ali Hassan, Ateeq Iqbal, Kalhan Challu, Ayush Shukla, Kinchit Shah, Mohammad Waheed, Shahid Wasif, Mohammad Ghazanfar
Afghanistan Squad: Rahmanullah Gurbaz(w), Sediqullah Atal, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Rashid Khan(c), Noor Ahmad, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Ishaq, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Gulbadin Naib