Afghanistan preliminary squad for one-off Test against New Zealand announced, Rashid Khan ignored

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.

They last played a Test match against Ireland in February earlier this year and they lost. Meanwhile, the ACB has announced a 20-member Test team for this one-off Test. The team named Hashmatullah Shahidi as its captain.

The 20-member squad will leave for India on August 28 and attend a one-week preparation camp in Greater Noida. Afghanistan's status as a Test cricketing nation is improving with every game they are playing in the format. Meanwhile, the officials will announce the final squad for the Test match after the camp.

The likes of Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi, and Naveen-Ul-Haq are not a part of the Test team. Known faces in the squad include Ibrahim Zadran, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Farid Ahmad Malik, and Qais Ahmed.

Afghanistan To Announce Squad For One-Off Test After Preparation Camp

So far they have played Test cricket against teams like India, Bangladesh, West Indies, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, and Ireland. They have won against Ireland and Bangladesh.

Ahmad Shah Sulimankhel, the Chief Selector said, “20 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 Chairman Mr. Mirwais Ashraf has forwarded his best wishes for the Test match saying that this match again is 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 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" he said.

Earlier, this year, Afghanistan made it to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. They defeated teams like Uganda and PNG 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 ended as the top-scorer in the tournament with 281 from 8 matches. Fazalhaq Farooqi ended with 17 wickets in the tournament, the most alongside Arshdeep Singh.

As of now, Afghanistan ranks 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 the top teams will only help them get better. Afghanistan defeated the Kiwis earlier this year in the T20 World Cup and will hope to upset them in Test cricket as well.

Afghanistan Squad For New Zealand One-Off 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.