Afghanistan Opts to Rest Rashid Khan for One-Test Match Against New Zealand, Hashmatullah Shahidi to Lead the Team

Kabul: Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan has been left out of the 20-member preliminary squad for the upcoming one-off Test match against New Zealand in Greater Noida next month. The highly anticipated Test match is scheduled to begin on September 9. Rashid's exclusion from the squad has raised eyebrows, considering he is Afghanistan's top wicket-taker in the Test format, boasting an impressive record of 34 wickets in five Tests at an average of 22.35, with four five-wicket hauls to his name.

He played his last Test for Afghanistan in 2021 against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi, where he took 11 wickets. Besides, Rashid is also a handy batter and has a half-century to his name in Tests. The other notable omissions in the side are Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Karim Janat, though Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai have been included in the preliminary squad.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board said the final 15-member squad will be announced at the end of a week-long preparatory camp in Greater Noida. The preliminary squad will arrive in India on August 28. “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,” said an ACB release. Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the side.

“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,” said ACB chairman Mirwais Ashraf.

Afghanistan Preliminary Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), 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.