Rashid Khan, the star leg spinner of Afghanistan, has made a much-awaited return in the Test format. The Afghanistan Cricket Board announced this squad for the approaching two-match Test series against Zimbabwe, starting on December 26 in Bulawayo.
Rashid is joined in action by a host of new faces since the selection committee wishes to inject fresh prospects into the lineup. Among the notable selections is left-handed top-order batter Sediqullah Atal, the new Test call-up who now joins his compatriots in having played ODIs and T20s for Afghanistan. Also making a return to Test consideration is medium-fast bowling all-rounder Ismat Alam, following his brilliant show in the Ahmad Shah Abdali First-Class Competitions, where he amassed 723 runs and took 12 wickets.
Also named in the squad were slow left-arm spinner Zahir Shehzad and left-arm pacer Bashir Ahmad Afghan. While Zahir Shahezad is an automatic entry due to his domestic exploits, Bashir displayed his quality with 30 wickets at an average of 17.36 in first-class cricket.
The squad contains seven new, uncapped players including fast-bowling all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai, left-arm pacer Fareed Ahmad Malik and top-order batter Riaz Hassan. All three are part of the squad for Afghanistan’s cancelled Test match against New Zealand but have yet to play their first match.
The appointed acting chief selector for ACB Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil sounded quite positive about his team.
“It is encouraging for our red-ball game going ahead that Rashid Khan has come back into the Test squad. The rest of the team prepared very well in Nangarhar province, and now we have selected a squad, which has included a number of new faces that performed exceptionally during the Ahmad Shah Abdali FC Tournament,” he said.
Afghanistan squad for Zimbabwe Tests:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Ikram Alikhail (WK), Afsar Zazai (WK), Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ismat Alam, Azmatullah Omarzai, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Zahir Shehzad, Rashid Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad Afghan, Naveed Zadran, and Fareed Ahmad Malik.
Reserves: Nasir Jamal, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, and Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai
