‘The Mango-man is back’ – Fans react as Naveen-ul-Haq is back in Afghanistan squad for upcoming ODI World Cup 2023

The ODI World Cup 2023 is just a few days away to get kicked off as the tournament will be starting on October 5. The opening match of the tournament will be played between the 2019 World Cup finalists England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

As the cricket universe is gearing up for the much-awaited tournament, the Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced their squad for the tournament. However, the fans were shocked to know that Naveen-ul-Haq is back in the squad and will be playing in the World Cup. 

Indian fans can’t forget Naveen as he was engaged in a fiery encounter with former India captain Virat Kohli during a match between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year. Since then, Naveen hasn’t played any international cricket due to which his inclusion is quite shocking for many cricket fans.

Afghanistan’s squad is looking more dangerous now

Naveen’s inclusion in the team will make their bowling department more strong with the spin bowling wizards Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the team. He wasn’t selected in the squad for the ongoing Asia Cup where the Aghan team were eliminated from the tournament in the group stage only.

Skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi impressed a lot with his captaincy as well as his batting skills. He will be accompanied by experienced cricketers like Mohammad Nabi and Rashid who have a lot of experience playing in the Indian conditions. Afghanistan’s batting order is also looking great with the likes of Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah and many more.

Afghanistan ODI World Cup 2023 squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi(C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, A Rahman, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi,

Reserve Players: Gulbadin Naib, Sharafudin Ashraf, Farid Ahmad Malik

Here’s how fans reacted:

https://twitter.com/Iconic_Rohit/status/1701913855054491749

https://twitter.com/Cmamonesh/status/1701913670484447341

https://x.com/rafayhassan17/status/1701913657184035014?s=20