Afghanistan Name Preliminary Squad for One-Off Test Against New Zealand
Afghanistan have named a preliminary squad of 20 players for next month's one-off Test against New Zealand. Rashid Khan's name isn't in the squad.
Afghanistan's Preliminary Squad for New Zealand Test Match: The only Test will be played between Afghanistan and New Zealand from 9 September. This match will be held at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground, India. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday announced the initial squad for the upcoming Test. ACB has currently selected 20 players but before the start of the match, names of five players will be cut and the 15-member team will be announced.
This 20-member team will leave for India on August 28 to attend a week-long preparatory camp in Greater Noida. Selection committee officials said that the final team will be decided on the basis of the performance and fitness of the players during this camp.
"I am happy to see some youngsters in the squad who performed well in domestic cricket and have gotten the opportunity to be part of the test squad for this test match.”
He further added that ACB is delighted to be embarking on its maiden bilateral event with New Zealand which is a quality side in test cricket and looks forward to a competitive event between black caps and Afghan Atalan," ACB Chairman Mr. Mirwais Ashraf said on the squad.
Rashid Khan Missed the Squad
All-rounder Rashid Khan has been left out of Afghanistan's 20-man preliminary squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida next month.
Rashid's last Test appearance for Afghanistan was in Abu Dhabi in March 2021.Despite his absence from the Test squad, he has remained active in the other formats.He recently captained the Speen Ghar Tigers in Kabul's Shpageeza T20 league, where he took six wickets at 9.33 besides scoring a fifty.However, his tenure with Trent Rockets in the men's Hundred was cut short due to a hamstring injury.
Afghanistan preliminary Test squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ikram Alikhel (wk), Shahidullah Kamal, Gulbadin Naib, Afsar Zazai (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ziaurrahman Akbar, Shamsurrahman, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Nijat Masoud, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveed Zadran, Khalil Ahmad, Yama Arab.
