Afghanistan announce 16-member squad for one-off Test against New Zealand

Afghanistan announced a 16-member squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand to be played in Greater Noida, starting September 9. Hasmatullah Shahidi will lead the side that will be play without their talismanic spinner Rashid Khan, who was ruled out with injury.

This will be Afghanistan's first-ever Test against New Zealand and their first outing since the memorable semi-final run at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA. The side has played nine Tests thus far in their cricketing history, winning three and losing six.

The side includes renowned batters Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, and skipper Shahidi himself. Talented all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai will likely make his Test debut after impressing in the white-ball formats over the past year.

Opener Abdul Malik, newbie Riaz Hassan, Bahir Shah, and veteran wicket-keeper batters Ikram Alikhil and Afsar Zazai will round off the batting arsenal. Other all-rounders in the squad include Shahidullah Kamal and Shams Ur Rahman.

As for the bowling, the spin department will helmed by Qais Ahmad, Zia-ur Rehman, Khalil Ahmad, and Zahir Khan, while Nijat Masood will be the lone specialist pacer.

Other prominent names like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, and Karim Janat weren't considered as they weren't a part of the preliminary squad. Meanwhile, all-rounder Gulbadin Naib, who played a crucial role in Afghanistan's sensational T20 World Cup run, missed out on the squad despite being part of the preliminary roster.

As per the Afghanistan X handle, the squad was finalized based on players’ performance in the preparation camp.

Afghanistan have lost their last three Tests - all one-off series against Ireland, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. Their latest Test outing was the one-off clash against Ireland earlier this year, which they lost by six wickets.

---

Afghanistan squad for one-off Test vs New Zealand

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Afsar Zazai, Ikram Alikhil, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shams Ur Rahman, Zia Ur Rahman Akbar, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Qais Ahmad, Khalil Ahmad, and Nijat Masood.