Afghanistan call-up Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Khalil Gurbaz for Ireland Test

Afghanistan have included wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz and legspinner Khalil Gurbaz in their squad for the one-off Test against Ireland, which starts on February 28 in Abu Dhabi. Mohammad Ishaq and Qais Ahmad, who were part of the set-up for the Sri Lanka Test, have been left out, while Yamin Ahmadzai and Mohammad Salim miss out because of injuries.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, 22, has featured in 38 ODIs and 52 T20Is for Afghanistan but is yet to make his Test debut. Khalil Gurbaz has played 10 first-class games and picked up 40 wickets at an average of 28.52. Uncapped seamer Mohammad Ibrahim has also been recalled. Bahir Shah, who averages 60.90 in 40 first-class games, has also been included.

"The team underwent a 10-day conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi, which featured 22 players and all the support staff to work with the players, and ensured full preparation for the series. We have thoroughly monitored the proceedings and have picked the squad which includes several new faces who have excelled well during the recent domestic events,”  Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil, ACB's interim chief selector, said in a statement.

This will be Afghanistan’s second Test against Ireland, having already beaten them in March 2019. "We have quite a good playing history with Ireland. Both countries have played plenty of cricket against each other and have been granted ICC Full Membership at the same time. This will be our second Test against them, and we are eagerly looking forward to what will be an exciting Test match between the two teams,” ACB CEO Naseeb Khan said.

"We will also be playing Tests against Bangladesh, New Zealand (for the first time) and Zimbabwe later in the year, so we are looking forward to building a formidable line-up for the Test matches ahead."

Squad - Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Ikram Alikhail (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Abdul Malik, Bahir Shah, Nasir Jamal, Karim Janat, Khalil Gurbaz, Zahir Khan, Zia-Ur-Rehman, Nijat Masood, Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Naveed Zadran.