Afghanistan name three uncapped players for New Zealand Test

Afghanistan named a 16-man squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand, picking three uncapped players — opener Riaz Hassan, off-spin all-rounder Shams Ur Rahman and leg spinner Khalil Ahmed. Hassan has played five ODIs for Afghanistan while Rahman and Ahmed are yet to get the taste of international cricket. 

Hashmatullah Shahidi will continue to lead the side. Rashid Khan, their premier spinner, had asked for a break from Test cricket on medical advice. In his absence, Zahir Khan (left-arm wrist spin) and Zia-Ur-Rehman (left-arm finger spin) will continue to be Afghanistan’s spin-bowling options. Rashid hasn’t played any Test cricket this year, missing Afghanistan’s one-off Tests against Sri Lanka and Ireland in the first quarter of 2024. In fact, he last played Test cricket in 2021. 

The fast bowler Naveen Zadran is left out of the 20-member preliminary squad announced last month. He snapped five wickets in Afghanistan’s last Test versus Ireland but is currently suffering from side strain. He is targeting Afghanistan’s ODI series against South Africa in the UAE for his comeback. 

Gulbadin Naib, Fareed Ahmad and Yama Arab are the other players omitted from the preliminary squad. Afghanistan will be having two wicketkeeping options to pick from — Ikram Alikhil and Afsar Zazai.

"The squad is finalized based on players' performance in the preparation camp," the Afghanistan Cricket Board said. "It is worth mentioning that 19 players participated in the preparation camp for around ten days in Greater Noida and eventually, after consultation with the captain and coaching staff, the 16-member squad was finalized."

The one-off Test will start in Greater Noida on Monday (September 9) and will be the first-ever Test at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground. It will also be the first Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand.

Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi ( c ), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Afsar Zazai (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shams Ur Rahman, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Qais Ahmad, Khalil Ahmad, Nijat Masood

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