The Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced its preliminary squad for the one-off Test match scheduled against New Zealand in Greater Noida, India, from September 9-13.
The last time they played a Test match against Ireland was in February this year and they lost. Meanwhile, the ACB has announced a 20-member Test squad for this one-off match. The team has named Hashmatullah Shahidi as their captain.
The 20-member squad will leave for India on August 28 and attend a week-long preparation camp in Greater Noida. Afghanistan’s status as a Test cricket nation is improving with every match they play in this format. Meanwhile, the officials will announce the final squad for the Test match after the camp.
Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-Ul-Haq are not part of the Test squad. Familiar faces in the team include Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Ahmad Malik and Qais Ahmed.
Afghanistan to announce squad for one-off event after preparation camp
So far, they have played Test cricket against teams like India, Bangladesh, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Ireland and have won against Ireland and Bangladesh.
Chief selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhel said: “Twenty players have been selected for the training camp and a 15-member squad will be selected to play the only Test match against New Zealand after observing their performance and fitness.”
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ACB President Mr. Mirwais Ashraf conveyed his best wishes for the Test match saying that this match is again an opportunity for the youngsters in the team to make an impact in the format.
“I am happy to see some youngsters in the squad who performed well in domestic cricket and have been given the opportunity to be part of the Test squad for this Test match.” He further added that ACB is delighted to embark on its first bilateral event with New Zealand, who are a quality team in Test cricket and look forward to a competitive event between the Black Caps and the Afghan Atalan,” he said.
Earlier this year, Afghanistan reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. They defeated teams like Uganda and Papua New Guinea in the league stage and also defeated New Zealand.
The Afghans defeated Australia in the Super 8 stage and knocked them out of the tournament. Unfortunately, the Afghans lost the semi-finals to South Africa. Rahmanullah Gurbaz finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 281 in 8 matches. Fazalhaq Farooqi finished with 17 wickets in the tournament, the joint-most with Arshdeep Singh.
Afghanistan are currently ranked 12th in the ICC Test rankings, below teams like Ireland, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
They are still an unfinished product in Test cricket and matches against top teams will only help them improve. Afghanistan defeated the Kiwis earlier this year in the T20 World Cup and will be hoping to beat them in Test cricket as well.
Afghanistan team to take part in unique New Zealand test
Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), 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 and Yama Arab.
