Injured Rashid not named in Afghanistan’s squad for New Zealand Test

Rashid Khan, one of the stalwarts of Afghanistan cricket, was not named in the preliminary squad of Afghanistan for the side’s one-off Test against New Zealand. The 20-player squad was announced by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday (August 26). 

Rashid, who got injured during The Hundred, did not play in Afghanistan's premier T20 competition- the Shpageeza Cricket League 2024. He is yet to recover from the injury. 

Speaking about the selection, Chief Selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhel said, “The 20 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.”

Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the Afghanistan side in the match starting September 9 in Greater Noida, India. All the 20 members of the squad will leave for India on August 28 as they will prepare for the series with a one-week preparation camp.

ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said, “I am happy to see some youngsters in the squad who performed well in domestic cricket and have gotten the opportunity to be part of the test squad for this test match.” 

Afghanistan preliminary squad

Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), 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, Shamsurrahman, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Nijat Masoud, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveed Zadran, Khalil Ahmad and Yama Arab.

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