Cricket has become a social event and each enthusiast of this sport is linked with another one throughout the world. Amongst the popular confrontations within international cricket, there are matches such as the South Africa versus Afghanistan clash in their timeline. Thus, this paper explores the previous competitions as well as performance history in terms of one-day internationals (ODIs), Test matches, and T20s between these two teams; and also mentions how they performed lately at World Cup tournaments.
Afghanistan and South Africa Match Details and More!
Afghanistan has been climbing up the ladder in international cricket rankings after gaining the ICC world cup full membership in 2017 and matches played against the likes of South Africa’s national cricket team have showcased their development. In addition, here is a summary of matches contested between these two countries in various forms:
A summary of all the Matches is here.
| FORMAT | MATCH PLAYED | SOUTH AFRICA WINS | AFGHANISTAN WINS | NO RESULT |
| Test match | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| ODI | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| T20 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
Afghanistan’s Squad Details for South Africa Tour in Afghanistan
Rashid Khan will be in charge of the Afghanistan team for the T20 World Cup 2024, which includes eight IPL players out of 15 in total. Six all-rounders make up the Afghan side.
The team has six allrounders; they are:
- Rashid Khan
- Azmatullah Omarzai
- Mohammad Nabi
- Gulbadin Naib
- Karim Janat
- Nangeyalia Kharote
- In addition to Rahmanullah Gurbaz (who is also the wicketkeeper), there are four batters in this squad:
- Ibrahim
- Zadran
- Najibullah Zadran as well as Mohammad Ishaq who is a backup to the keeper.
Also, the bowling makes a nice mix of spin with:
- Mujeeb-ur-Rahman
- Noor Ahmad
- Rashid Khan
- Nabi
- Kharote
These are the best five spinners in the squad of 15.
- Naveen-ul-Haq is among the three quicks that make up part of their pace department
- Fazalhaq Farooqi who bowls from left
- Fareed Ahmad will also belong to this group
Afghanistan’s Squad for T20 Test in South Africa
(South Africa Tour in Afghanistan)
- Hazratullah Zazai – batsman
- Ibrahim Zadran – batsman
- Najibullah Zardran – batsman
- Azmatullah Omarzai – all rounder
- Gulbadin Naib – all rounder
- Karim Janat – all-rounder
- Mohammed Nabi – all-rounder
- Mohammad Ishaq – wicketkeeper
- Rahmanullah Gurbaz – wicketkeeper
- Fareed Ahmad – bowler
- Fazalhaq Farooqi – bowler
- Nangeyalia Kharroti – bowler
- Naveen-ul-haq – bowler
- Noor Ahmad
- Rashid Khan – bowler
- Noor, Kharote, and Ishaq played key roles in both U-19 World Cups for Men that took place recently before the t20 Men’s World Cup
- Hashmatullah Shahidi, however, does not feature on this list yet he captained Afghanistan during the 2023 ODI World Cup.
- Another significant absence from the main roster is left-hand opening batsman Hazratullah Zazai. He joins Sediqullah Atal and Mohammad Saleem as one of the three reserve players traveling to America and the Caribbean.
Afghanistan’s Squad for Test Cricket 2024
(South Africa Tour in Afghanistan)
- Hashmatullah Shahidi – Batter
Batting: Left hand bat
Bowling: Slow left arm orthodox
Jersey no – 50
2. Ibrahim Zadran – Batter
Batting: Right hand bat
Bowling: Right-arm medium
Jersey Number – 17
3. Nasir Jamal – Batter
Batting: Right hand bat
Bowling: Right arm Offbreak, Legbreak Googly
4. Rahmat Shah – Batter
Batting: Right hand bat
Bowling: Legbreak
Jersey Number – 8
5. Bahir Shah – Batter
Batting: Right-handed
Bowling: Right-arm off-break
6. Karim Janat – Allrounder
Batting: Right hand bat
Bowling: Right-arm medium fast
Jersey number – 11
7. Abdul Malik – Allrounder
Batting: Right-handed
Bowling: Right-arm off-break
8. Nijat Masood – Allrounder
Batting: Right-hand bat
Bowling: Right-arm medium-fast
Jersey Number – 12
9. Ikram Alikhil – Wicketkeeper
Batting: Left Hand bat
Jersey Number – 15
10. Rahmanullah Gurbaz – Wicketkeeper
Batting: Right-hand bat
Jersey Number – 21
11. Khalil Gurbaz – Allrounder
Batting: Right-handed
Bowling: Right-arm off-break
12 . Rashid Khan – Bowler
Batting: Right hand bat
Bowling: Legbreak
Jersey number – 19
13. Zahir Khan – Bowler
Batting: Left-hand bat
Bowling: Slow left-arm orthodox
14. Zia-ur-Rahman – Bowler
Batting: Right hand bat
Bowling: Slow left arm orthodox
Jersey Number: 18
15. Mohammad Ibrahim – Bowler
Batting: Right hand bat
Bowling: Right-arm medium
16. Naveed Zadran – Bowler
Batting: Right-hand bat
Bowling: Right-arm medium
Yamin Ahmadzai – Bowler
Batting: Right-hand bat
Bowling: Right-arm medium
Jersey Number – 99
17. Qais Ahmad – Bowler
Batting: Right-hand bat
Bowling: Legbreak 32
18. Mohammed Saleem – Bowler
Batting: Right-hand bat
Bowling: Right-arm medium
Jersey Number – 24
19. Mohammed Ishaq – Wicketkeeper
Batting: Right-hand bat
South Africa Squad Details for South Africa Tour in Afghanistan
Anrich Nortje, after staying out of action for nine months, will be returning at the T20 World Cup 2024 which is set to take place in the USA and West Indies from June 1 to June 29. The South African team will be captained by Aiden Markram.
For T20 World Cup 2024, opening batsman Ryan Rickelton and paceman Ottniel Baartman – both of whom stood out during this year’s SA20 – have been named in South Africa’s side. In SA20, Rickelton had top-scored as well as coming second for most runs during the just-concluded CSA T20 challenge. He is expected to partner up with Quinton de Kock during the ICC event. Retired from ODI cricket, the T20 World Cup 2024 could mark De Kock’s last international appearance in competitive cricket.
Meanwhile, there will be an alternative second-string squad featuring Van Der Dussen as well as Breetkze representing South Africa during T20 matches against West Indies ahead of the T20 World Cup Walter’s biggest challenge lies with him receiving backlash over reduced player representation from colored communities as far quarterly numbers are concerned.
As per the announcement made by Walter, few players were selected for the team while maximum were neglected. However, a vice captain’s position is more of a group than being individualistic in any way.
So as long as the T20 format survives the spirit of cricket will never die because playing this format seems to be entirely different from Test matches or even ODIs.
The 2024 T20 World Cup South Africa team which has been developed jointly with Enoch Nkwe (director for cricket in South Africa) will kick off its campaign on June 3 against Sri Lanka in New York.
South Africa Test and T20 Squad Details 2024 (South Africa Tour in Afghanistan)
South Africa Squad 2024:
- Aiden Markram – batsman
- David Miller – batsman
- Reeza Hendricks – batsman
- Tristan Stubbs – batsman
- Keshav Maharaj – all-rounder
- Marco Jansen – all-rounder
- Heinrich Klaasen – wicket keeper
- Ryan Rickelton – wicket keeper
- Anrich Nortje – bowler
- Bjorn Fortuin – bowler
- Gerald Coetzee – bowler
- Kagiso Rabada – bowler
- Ottneil Baartman – bowler
- Tabriaz Shamsi – bowler
Afghanistan National Cricket Team Vs South Africa National Cricket Team Timeline
| DATE | MATCH TYPE | TEAMS | WON | BY HOW MANY WICKETS | BY HOW MANY BALLS REMAINING | VENUE |
| Thursday 27th June 2024 | 1st Semi-Final | South Africa Vs Afghanistan | South Africa | 9 Wickets | 67 Balls | Tarouba |
| Wednesday
10th September 2024 5:30 Pm |
1st Odi (D/N) | Match Yet To Begin | – | – | Sharjah | |
| Friday
22nd September 2024 5:30 Pm |
2nd Odi (D/N) | Match Yet To Begin | – | – | Sharjah | |
| Sunday
22nd September 2024 5:30 Pm |
3rd Odi (D/N) | – | – | Sharjah |
Conclusive Insights
Although it has been predicted that a fierce confrontation would ensue but it had mostly been on the side of South Africa, which was observed by their being stronger generally in most matches they played. Moreover, this endurance was supported by the inclusion of various other national cricket teams in most international contests. Still, they managed to attain impressive wins in ODIs or T20s hence proving to be very stiff and thrilling. Besides from these factors, we can say with certainty that future fixtures between these two nations will remain scintillating with many memorable experiences over the years. This is new-age international cricket at its finest!
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. Has Afghanistan ever won against South Africa?
Ans) No. South Africa has won 2 whereas Afghanistan has come out victorious on 0 occasions.
Q2. Is Afghanistan South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2024?
Ans) Yes.
Q3. How many T20s has Afghanisthan won?
Ans) 79 victories.