Naveen-ul-Haq returns for Afghanistan after two years out

Naveen-ul-Haq is back in Afghanistan’s Twenty20 international squad for the three-match series against India in Delhi. He has been out for almost two years. A stress fracture in his right shoulder started it. Surgery to repair the labrum extended it. The seamer is named in a 15-man squad captained by Ibrahim Zadran. The first match is at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on 13 September.

Two surgeries and a long rehab

The fracture itself was the quicker part. “The stress fracture healed itself within eight to ten weeks. But I had a second surgery for labrum repair,” Naveen said in an interview reported by ESPNcricinfo. The rehabilitation ran in the United Kingdom. It was restrictive from the start. “For the first six weeks of rehab in the UK, I had to sit while sleeping,” he said.

He was blunt about the rest of it. “It is lonely. It’s a very tough time for a person,” he said. Two procedures. One shoulder. He did the work away from the squad.

Watching the World Cup from outside

The injury cost him the Twenty20 series against West Indies. It also cost him the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. “I had the feeling that if I was there for the team, maybe I could have done something different in the death overs,” he said. Fazal Haq Farooqi, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad are all in this squad. All four bowl at the death. They covered those overs in his absence.

Naveen also pointed to the continuity in the side he rejoins. “In this generation, you will see nine or ten players who have been playing for Afghanistan since the Under-19s together, since 2018,” he said.

Afghanistan’s 15 for the series

• Ibrahim Zadran (captain)
• Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wicketkeeper)
• Noor Rahman (wicketkeeper)
• Sediqullah Atal
• Darwish Rasooli
• Azmatullah Omarzai
• Gulbadin Naib
• Mohammad Nabi
• Rashid Khan
• Nangyal Kharoti
• Noor Ahmad
• Mujeeb Ur Rahman
• Fazal Haq Farooqi
• Abdullah Ahmadzai
• Naveen-ul-Haq

Ijaz Ahmadzai, Shahidullah Kamal and Fareed Ahmad Malik were named as reserves. Gulbadin Naib returns. Noor Rahman has a maiden call-up. Afghanistan Cricket Board chief executive Naseeb Khan said the board “has always made every effort to select a well-balanced and fully prepared squad for all relevant competitions”.

Delhi and the fixture list

The three matches run on 13, 15 and 17 September. All are at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Afghanistan are the designated home side. Delhi stands in for a venue at home. The board also stages home fixtures in the United Arab Emirates, where a season of three Tests and a tri-series is set.

Staging the opener took some work. The Delhi and District Cricket Association said on 10 September that the match would go ahead as scheduled, according to reports of its statement. That followed a meeting with Delhi Traffic Police. The concern was security around the BRICS summit in the city. The summit ran from 11 to 13 September. Bharat Mandapam sits about five kilometres from the ground.