Afghanistan's exiled women cricketers will be the first beneficiaries of a new refugee fund started by the Marylebone Cricket Club, the MCC said on Friday.

England and South Africa have been urged to boycott next month's Champions Trophy matches against Afghanistan, whose maiden appearance in the men's 50-overs tournament as one of the world's top eight teams is a testament to their growth in recent years.

Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead Afghanistan in their maiden ICC Men's Champions Trophy campaign as the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed the 15-player squad on Sunday.

England and South Africa share the same group with Afghanistan in the One Day International competition and are under pressure to boycott the fixtures in response to the Taliban government’s crackdown on women's rights since returning to power in August 2021.

Khan, who represented Pakistan across 265 ODIs, 118 Test matches, and led them to a historic Men's T20 World Cup triumph in 2009, amassed over 17,000 runs across formats. He still holds the record for most Test hundreds by a Pakistan batter (34).

The 26-year-old missed Afghanistan's most recent Test matches on medical advice to heal a back injury for which he underwent surgery earlier this year.

Both cricketers took to X to urge the Taliban to reconsider their stance and restore Afghan girls' right to education, enabling them to contribute to the nation’s development.

“Playing against Bangladesh has always been challenging and full of joy. I believe the group of players selected for this series will perform exceptionally well and bring more glory to our nation,” said ACB CEO Naseeb Khan.

South Africa avoided their lowest ever score in an ODI but Afghan batters enjoyed a comfortable chase.

Afghanistan's cricket board said on Wednesday it had banned former top-order international batter Ihsanullah Janat for five years after he admitted to "corrupt activities" in a domestic league.

Rashid Khan showed his frustration during the final over of the first innings with an outburst that has earned him a sanction.

Thousands gathered in the capital Kabul and in Khost, Jalalabad and other cities to celebrate the fairytale win, which also eliminated the formidable Australians from the competition.

Afghanistan have realised cricketing history in reaching the final four of the mega event, edging out Bangladesh in one of the most dramatic T20I contests of all time.

As it stands, Afghanistan have the best chance to move into the last-four stage, whereas the odds are stacked the heaviest for Bangladesh.

"With every ball, every run, every boundary, every wicket, I wasn't able to hold my emotions," said university student Zamir Afghan in the capital Kabul.

Bumrah deceived Gurbaz with clever change of pace and got the better of the other opener with an off-cutter that resulted in a leading edge at point.

Afghanistan's statement win in their opening group match against Uganda showed they have the goods to make a deep impact in the ninth edition of the showpiece event. 

Uganda skipper Masaba took positives from his team's T20 World Cup debut, despite the heavy defeat. "Pretty special moment for us, hearing our national anthem and seeing our flag at the World Cup," Masaba said.

This will also be Rashid’s first time captaining the team in a T20 World Cup and the skipper would definitely be keen to make a statement in the USA and the Caribbean.

Bravo has been named as the bowling consultant by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) ahead of the Men's T20 World Cup.