Overview
- The tournament runs August 29 to September 7 at Sharjah in a double round-robin, with seven games before a September 7 final for the top two teams.
- Afghanistan faces Pakistan in the opener on Friday, with evening start times listed at 8:30 pm IST and 7:00 pm local.
- Afghanistan named a 17-man squad led by Rashid Khan, welcoming back Ibrahim Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, including uncapped spinner AM Ghazanfar and debut-ready pacer Abdollah Ahmadzai in place of Naveen-ul-Haq.
- Pakistan’s 17-man group is captained by Salman Ali Agha and omits Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as coach Mike Hesson continues trials of higher strike-rate options and varied spin led by Abrar Ahmed and Mohammad Nawaz.
- Coverage frames Afghanistan as favorites given Sharjah’s historically slow, low-scoring surface that rewards spin, offering a final tune-up before the Asia Cup begins on September 9 in the UAE.