The article will explore the possibility for Dark Horses Afghanistan to win their first major silverware in Cricket, The Asia Cup 2025. A serious T20 contender, Afghanistan has always shown promise in the shortest format of the game. Afghanistan is currently the second-ranked team amongst Asian teams.

In this article, we dig deep into the Afghan team’s strengths, key players, and its realistic chance of becoming a major threat in the tournament.

Introduction

Asia Cup conducted by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) is a multinational tournament wherein Teams from Asia participate to be crowned the Asian champions of Cricket.

The tournament promotes the development of cricket in Asia, allowing associate nations to take part in the tournament giving them the opportunity to challenge the mighty powerhouses in Asian Cricket like India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Among the contenders, the Afghanistan Team has shown the most promise over the years, and the 2025 Asia Cup is the perfect occasion for a Team who plays above their weight in the T20 format which suites their style of play in the game.

Over the years, Afghanistan have had some memorable game wins in the world stage especially in ICC tournaments but have not cemented their place as the title contenders. But the Asia Cup 2025 can be a perfect platform for this team to take their game to the next level and become champions.

Although Afghanistan has been grouped in the tougher of the two groups, the team is expected to pull in some surprises and is poised to cause major upsets in the tournament.

The recent Tri-Nation tournament saw the team beating Pakistan in the group stage but capitulating poorly in the finals to the eventual winners, Pakistan.

Not the ideal preparation for the Asia Cup, but the Afghans have got the much-needed game time they desperately required due to lack of bilateral tournaments.

With a team ideally suited for the shortest format of the game with their fearless brand of cricket, no team will take the Afghans lightly in the Asia Cup 2025.

The Rise of the Afghanistan Cricket Team

Cricket for Afghanistan started from the war-torn refugee camps, which makes it a true underdog story. After getting full member status from the ICC in 2017, the team, with hardly a formal cricketing board till recently, has come a long way from being strugglers to now serious contenders for the Asia Cup silverware.

Core Strengths of the Afghan Team

Spinners
Allrounders
Top order power-hitting batters
Mix of young and experienced players

Spinners

Afghanistan have great depth in their spin bowling department. Captain Rashid Khan has been leading the ICC list of bowlers for quite some time now. He along with Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Noor Ahmad make the deadliest spin trio in world cricket today. In subcontinental conditions which is likely to be prevalent in the UAE, these bowlers will be a threat to all teams.

Opening Batting

Rahmanullah Gurbaz known for their fearless aggressive style of play can give the team the much-needed quick start for the team to post a winning total.

Allrounders with experience

Mohammed Nabi is the senior statesmen in the team who can help the team guide in difficult situation both with bat and ball. Azmatullah Omarzai is another allrounder the team heavily relies on.

Exposure to franchise cricket

Afghanistan boys play in most franchise leagues around the world like the IPL, BBL, and CPL, which has helped them become good at the T20 format game.

Afghanistan’s Game Plan

Bat First. Defend any score through their brilliant bowling lineup.
Go hard in the initial overs and play feerless cricket. They always target 60+ runs in the first 6 overs.
While bowling spinners are used as attacking option and opens the bowling inning.
Middle order batting lineup also gives them the much needed stability to rotate strike.

What Afghans Lack

The Afghanistan team is very inconsistent when the opposition bats first as they do not have the quality in the batting to chase a score. This has been their downfall over the years.

Fielding is their biggest weakness and has often let the team down in crucial games and moments.

Key Players to Watch in Asia Cup 2025

Player	Role
Rashid Khan	Spinner & Captain	· Can bowl the crucial overs · Useful late-order batsman
Rahmanullah Gurbaz	Opener	· Feerless opener · Safe and reliable wicketkeeper
Noor Ahmed	Spinner	· Wicket taking option
Mohammad Nabi	All-rounder	· Experience · Middle Order batsman · Economical and a wicket-taking option