Afghanistan announced the test squad for the two-match series against Zimbabwe on Monday morning. The announcement marks the return of Afghanistan’s ace spinner Rashid Khan to the longest format of the game after a three-year gap. Rashid last played a game for Afghanistan in the white dress in March 2021 in Abu Dhabi, against Zimbabwe. Rashid had taken a break from the test format due to a groin injury.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board announced a test squad that includes seven uncapped players. Allrounder Ismat Alam, left-arm spinner Zahir Shehzad, and left-arm quick Bashir Ahmad Afghan have been included as a reward for their consistent performances in domestic cricket. On the other side, Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Riaz Hassan, and Sediqullah Atal have played international games for Afghanistan in colored uniforms, but in whites, all are yet to take the stage for Afghanistan.
Afghanistan have announced a 19-man squad for the upcoming Test series against Zimbabwe.#AFGvZIM pic.twitter.com/o7w70Bwer4
— ICC (@ICC) February 18, 2021
Afghanistan’s head coach, Jonathan Trott, who oversaw the ODI leg of the team’s multi-format tour of Zimbabwe, will not be available for the test series due to personal reasons. Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the squad with Rahmat Shah as his deputy. Meanwhile, Nasir Jamal, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, and Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai will join the team as reserve players.
Afghanistan Test Squad for Zimbabwe Series
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Ikram Alikhail (wk), Afsar Zazai (wk), Ismat Alam, Azmatullah Omarzai, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Zahir Shehzad, Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Rashid Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad Afghan, Naveed Zadran, and Fareed Ahmad Malik
The series will take place from December 26 to January 6, with both Test matches to take place in Bulawayo.
