Afghanistan Playing 11 vs Zimbabwe- 2nd Test, Afghanistan tour of Zimbabwe 2024-25

Afghanistan will be looking to end their tour of Zimbabwe on a winning note as they eye a historic Test series win in the African country. The second Test of the ongoing series between the two sides will be getting underway on Thursday (January 2) at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo.

Riding high on confidence after their victory in the T20I and ODI series, the Afghans came up with a stellar batting show in the first Test. The visitors were on the backfoot after Zimbabwe posted a mammoth total of 586 runs in the first innings.

Sean Williams, Craig Ervine and Brian Bennett scored centuries for the home side. In reply, Afghanistan piled up 699 runs thanks to double centuries from Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rahmat Shah and a century from Afsar Zazai.

Zimbabwe were on 142/4 in the second innings when the proceedings came to an end. Ahead of the second Test, we are taking a look at the Afghanistan Playing 11.

Afghanistan Playing 11 vs Zimbabwe- 2nd Test, Afghanistan tour of Zimbabwe 2024-25:

Openers: Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal

Abdul Malik and Sediqullah Atal are expected to be the openers in the Afghan Playing 11. After a fine display in the ODI series, both the batters failed to impress in the first Test. Both of them failed to score big and will be eyeing a better display in the second Test.

Atal was out for just 3 runs and will be keen to bounce back. On the other hand, Malik got the start but could not convert it into a big score as he departed for 23 runs.

Middle-order batsmen and allrounders: Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Afsar Zazai (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Shahidullah Kamal

The middle-order in the Afghan Playing 11 had a game to remember in the first Test. Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi led the charge with the bat for their side. Shah scored 234 runs while captain Shahidi scored 246 runs.

Wicketkeeper Afsar Zazai also made his presence felt by scoring 113 runs. Shahidullah Kamal remained unbeaten on 29 runs in the first innings. Azmatullah Omarzai was out for a duck in the first innings and will be looking to do well in the upcoming Test. With the ball, Omarzai picked up one wicket.

Bowlers: Rashid Khan, AM Ghazanfar, Naveed Zadran, Zahir Khan

The visitors are likely to make one change to their playing 11 for the second Test. Their star spinner Rashid Khan is set to return to the Afghan Playing 11 for the upcoming game after missing the first Test due to personal reasons.

Zia-ur-Rehman picked up 2 wickets in the first innings but is likely to make way for Rashid in the Afghanistan Playing 11. Naveed Zadran picked up 2 wickets in the first Test and is expected to retain his spot in the team. He is the only frontline pacer in the team.

Afghanistan are likely to have two more spinners in the team - AM Ghazanfar and Zahir Khan. Both the spinners picked up 4 wickets in the first Test. While Zahir picked up 2 wickets in each innings, Ghazanfar claimed 3 wickets in the first innings before picking another wicket in the second innings.