AFG-U19 vs CAN-U19 Dream11 Team Prediction, Fantasy Cricket Tip & Playing 11 Updates for Today's Cricket Match - Jan 24th, 2020

One of the few teams to have already made the Super League stages in the ongoing ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup 2020, Afghanistan U19 will be eager to end their group stage campaign with a win as they face off against Canada U19 in the 19th fixture of the tournament at the North-West University No.2 Ground in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Afghanistan began their campaign with a resounding 7-wicket win against hosts South Africa, and followed it up with a mammoth 160-run win against the United Arab Emirates, while on the other hand, Canada have lost both their matches and will be keen to put up a strong challenge against the Afghans.

With Afghanistan looking to seal the top spot from Group D, it remains to be seen if Canada can indeed pull off an upset or the former register a hat-trick of wins from the group stages. Here are a few tips to help pick your Dream11 team for AFG-U19 v CAN-U19.

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AFG-U19 vs CAN-U19 teams

Afghanistan U-19s

Farhan Zakhil (C), Sediqullah Atal, Rahmanullah, Ibrahim Zadran, Fazal Haq, Imran Mir, Asif Musazai, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Mohammad Ishaq, Noor Ahmad, Jamshid Khan, Abdul Rahman, Abidullah Taniwal, Zohaib Ahmadzai, Abid Mohammadi.

Canada U-19s

Ashtan Deosammy (C), Benjamin Calitz, Mihir Patel, Randhir Sandhu, Udaybir Walia, Muhammad Kamal, Eshan Sensarma, Nicholas Manohar, Akhil Kumar, Arshdeep Dhaliwal, Ayush Verma, Gurjot Gosal, Raqib Shamsudeen, Rishiv Ragav Joshi, Harmanjeet Bedi.

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Playing 11 Updates

Afghanistan U-19s

Afghanistan's bowling unit has looked in solid form in this tournament, with leg-spinner Shafiqullah Ghafari picking up 11 wickets across just two matches. Credit must also be given to the Afghanistan batsmen, who put up a challenging score of 265-6 against UAE and with both units combining to bring about two wins in a row, expect Afghanistan to field the same playing XI for this game as well.

Possible XI: Zakhil (C), Zadran, Mir, Rahmanullah, Ishaq (WK), Rahman, Ghafari, Ahmad, Fazal, Musazai, Mohammadi.

Canada U-19s

The Canada batsmen have performed relatively well in this tournament, putting up scores of 231 (v UAE) and 199 (v SA), but it is the bowling unit that has led the team down so far. Barring Akhil Kumar's 4/56 effort v South Africa, none of the other bowlers have been able to restrict the batsmen. One could expect Canada to make just the one change by bringing in Arshdeep Dhaliwal in place of Gurjot Gosal.

Possible XI: Sandhu, Patel, Akhil, Calitz (WK), Walia, Deosammy (C), Verma, Shamsudeen, Kamal, Joshi, Dhaliwal.

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Match details

Afghanistan U-19 vs Canada U-19, Match 19, Group D

24th January 2020, 1:30 PM IST

North-West University No.2 Ground, Potchefstroom

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Also see - Live cricket score

Pitch report

This is the first time in this competition that the North-West University Ground No.2 will be used, but going by the surfaces that have been used in Potchefstroom, spin will yet again play a vital role, while pace off the ball from the speedsters could also be the key.

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AFG-U19 vs CAN-U19 Dream11 tips

Wicket-keeper: Canada's Benjamin Calitz top-scored with a 77-ball 62* against South Africa and can be expected to carry his form into the match against Afghanistan. While both he and Afghanistan's Mohammad Ishaq bat at No.4 or No.5, Calitz is the better pick solely based on form.

Batsmen: Afghanistan's batting duo of Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Zadran lead the run-getters chart for their side in this edition of the competition, with Ibrahim, in particular, notching up two half-centuries in a row, making him a must-have for this fantasy side.

Imran Mir is also yet another promising batsman who has scored 78 runs from two matches, including a 48-ball 57 against South Africa that makes a strong case for his inclusion in this fantasy side.

For Canada, Mihir Patel will have the onus of scoring a bulk of the runs, having made a 90 against UAE and providing a good start against South Africa as well.

Allrounders: Afghanistan's Shafiqullah Ghafari has been one of the standout bowlers from this competition and has already picked up 11 wickets from two matches, notably picking up a six-wicket haul against South Africa. His ability to spin a web against the Canada batsmen could be a big feature from this game.

Canada's Akhil Kumar has looked solid with bat and ball, having scored 47 runs from two matches apart from picking up a 4-wicket haul against South Africa with his medium-pace. Expect him to shine in this game if Canada are to put up a fight against Afghanistan.

Bowlers: Striking a match-winning partnership with Ghafari, left-arm chinaman Noor Ahmad has also been among the wickets and has five scalps to his name. With the pitch set to assist the spinners, expect Ahmad to make an impact with his variations.

Fazal Haq has operated with the new ball for Afghanistan and although he has had limited success, the pacer can be expected to cause quite a few issues with swing coming into play under overcast conditions. Similar is the case of Canada's Rishiv Raghav Joshi, who has picked up a couple of wickets and is a key bowler for his side upfront and in the middle overs.

If one were to look for Canadian bowler to slot in an Afghanistan batsman/all-rounder, Ayush Verma could be a wise pick, considering that he has bowled at an economical rate and can also produce some big hits in the slog overs.

Captain: Ibrahim Zadran's form coming into this match should see most of the fantasy team owners pick him as the captain, while Ghaffari's returns with his leg-spin makes him a terrific option for some extra points. However, Mihir Patel has also looked promising from the first two games and could produce yet another big knock in this game while along with him, Benjamin Calitz's solidity in the middle order could be a matter of consideration.

Dream11 Team prediction

Fantasy Suggestion #1

Benjamin Calitz, Mohammad Ishaq, Ibrahim Zadran, Mihir Patel, Rahmanullah Zadran, Imran Mir, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Akhil Kumar, Noor Ahmad, Rishi Raghav Joshi, Fazal Haq.

Captain: Ibrahim Zadran Vice-Captain: Shafiqullah Ghafari

Fantasy Suggestion #2

Benjamin Calitz, Ibrahim Zadran, Mihir Patel, Rahmanullah Zadran, Imran Mir, Ashtan Deosammy, Shafiqullah Ghafari, Akhil Kumar, Noor Ahmad, Ayush Verma, Fazal Haq.

Captain: Rahmanullah Zadran Vice-Captain: Mihir Patel.