Afghanistan announce 16-man squad for one-off test against New Zealand in Greater Noida

The Afghanistan vs New Zealand one-off test match will start on September 9 in Greater Noida.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) left out veteran cricketer Gulbadin Naib from their 16-man squad for the upcoming one-off test against New Zealand, which will be played from September 9 in Greater Noida, India. Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the Afghanistan cricket team.

The ACB named three uncapped players – opening batter Riaz Hassan, all-rounder Shams Ur Rahman, and speedster Khalil Ahmed – in their squad to take on New Zealand.

However, Afghanistan will miss the service of their superstar player Rashid Khan due to his injury issues. Rashid was advised by the medical team not to take part in the New Zealand test match to manage his back issues. In the absence of Rashid, Zahir Khan and Zia-ur-Rahman will lead the spin bowling attack for Afghanistan.

Fast bowler Naveed Zadran, who picked a five-wicket haul in the test against Ireland, has been ruled out with a side strain.

Apart from him, Gulbadin Naib, Fareed Ahmad, and Yama Arab failed to make it cut for the final 16-member squad for the one-off test against New Zealand. It is to be noted that the Afghanistan vs New Zealand one-off test is not part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. 

“The squad is finalised based on players’ performance in the preparation camp,” the ACB said. “It is worth mentioning that 19 players participated in the preparation camp for around ten days in Greater Noida and eventually, after consultation with the captain and coaching staff, the 16-member squad was finalised.”

Afghanistan squad for New Zealand Test

Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Afsar Zazai (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shams Ur Rahman, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Qais Ahmad, Khalil Ahmad, Nijat Masood

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