No Rashid Khan as Afghanistan name 20-member preliminary squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida
The Afghanistan Cricket Board on Monday, August 26 named a 20-member preliminary squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand to be played in Greater Noida from September 9 to September 13. Significantly, seasoned leg-spinner Rashid Khan's name doesn't feature in the preliminary squad.
Rashid was ruled out of The Hundred earlier this month due to a hamstring injury. He played a couple of games in the Shpageeza Cricket League 2024 but is not yet fit to feature in a five-day Test.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, ACB spokesperson Sayed Naseem Sadaat said that the board is hopeful of Rashid recovering in time for the three-match ODI series against South Africa, which will be played in the United Arab Emirates from September 18 to September 22.
"Rashid was injured recently. He was given three to four weeks rest and although he played number of Shpageeza T20 matches, for longer format he is not healthy enough (to take the load)," Sadaat was quoted as saying by the website.
Meanwhile, as per an official statement from ACB, the 20-member Afghanistan squad will leave for India on August 28 and take part in a one-week preparation camp in Greater Noida. The selection committee will announce the final squad after the conclusion of the camp.
“Twenty 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,” Chief Selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhel said in ACB's official release on team selection.
Afghanistan preliminary squad for one-off Test: 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, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Nijat Masoud, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveed Zadran, Khalil Ahmad, Yama Arab, Shamsurrahman
What is Afghanistan's record in Test cricket?
Afghanistan have featured in nine Test matches, winning three and losing six. They played their first match in the red-ball format against India in Bengaluru in June 2018 and were thumped by an innings and 262 runs.
They created history by beating Ireland by seven wickets in Dehradun in March 2019. The Asian side registered their maiden Test win while playing only their second match in the format. In their very next Test, Afghanistan hammered Bangladesh by 224 runs in September 2019.
Their third Test win came against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi in March 2021, when they registered a six-wicket victory. Afghanistan have, however, lost their last three Tests, against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Ireland, respectively.