The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the squads for their upcoming tour of Zimbabwe on Wednesday. This tour features a historic one-off Test match and a three-match T20I series starting on October
20 at the Harare Sports Club.
Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the team in the one-off Test, as Rashid Khan has been rested to prioritise his well-being and sustained performance for future international events. Rashid Khan will captain the team in the T20I series.
Left-arm fast bowler Bashir Ahmad, who recently played in ODIs and T20Is for Afghanistan and was part of the Test squad during the last tour to Zimbabwe, has retained his place in the squad.
Fast bowler Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf, and leg spinner Khalil Gurbaz, who impressed during the domestic red ball season, have been called up for the Test squad.
Spin-bowling all-rounder Shahidullah Kamal has been included in both squads for the Zimbabwe series. Additionally, fast bowler Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Sediqullah Atal, and Shams Ur Rahman have been added to the reserve pool.
Middle-order batter Ijaz Ahmadzai, who made his T20I debut earlier in 2024, returns to the T20I side. Shahidullah Kamal, following an impressive SCL season, has also been drafted into the T20I squad for the series.
“Alongside our domestic cricket and high-performance center programs, we have been successfully implementing our plans in international cricket. As a result, we are now consistently playing bilateral series one after another, and the outcomes of our long-term efforts have been very positive so far,” CEO of the Afghanistan Cricket Board Naseeb Khan, said.
He added, “Following the Bangladesh series hosted by ACB, our national team will travel to Zimbabwe, where they will play a Test match and a T20I series against the host nation. Subsequently, we will also play series against other countries in sequence.”
Afghanistan’s Test Squad:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Afsar Zazai (WK), Ikram Alikhel (WK), Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Ismat Alam, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Zia Ur Rahman Akbar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Khalil Gurbaz, and Bashir Ahmad.
Reserves: Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Sediqullah Atal, and Shams Ur Rahman
Afghanistan’s T20I Squad:
Rashid Khan (C), Ibrahim Zadran (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Bashir Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad Malik, and Abdullah Ahmadzai.
Reserves: AM Ghazanfar and Faridoon Dawoodzai
(With inputs from Agencies)
