Afghanistan star player Rashid Khan set to make his comeback in Tests after 2021 and the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced the squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Zimbabwe scheduled to take place at Bulawayo. The star leg-spinner played his last Test match against the same opponent in Abu Dhabi in March 2021.
The 26-year-old has been included in the 18-player squad for the series that is scheduled to start from December 26. The star player has played more than 200 white-ball matches for Afghanistan and he just featured in five Tests throughout his career for a total of 34 wickets at an average of 22.35.
Rashid's return highlights an Afghanistan squad that features seven uncapped players, with top-order batter Sediqullah Atal, fast bowling all-rounder Ismat Alam and left-arm spinner Zahir Shehzad among those aiming to win a first Test cap in Africa.
Afghanistan interim chief selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil was thrilled to welcome Rashid back to the Test fold and believes the squad are well-placed to perform with aplomb against Zimbabwe.
"Rashid Khan returns to the Test squad, which is a promising sign for our red ball game going forward. The rest of the team underwent good preparations recently in Nangarhar province, which featured 19 players and all the support staff to work with the players and ensure full preparation for the series," Ahmad Shah said as quoted by the ICC.
"We have thoroughly monitored the proceedings and have picked the squad which includes several new faces, including Ismat Alam, Bashir Ahmad, and Zahir Shehzad, who have performed well during the recent Ahmad Shah Abdali FC Tournament," the selector added.
Series schedule:
First Test: December 26-30, Bulawayo.
Second Test: January 2-6, Bulawayo.
Afghanistan Test squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmat Shah (vc), Ikram Alikhail (wk), Afsar Zazai (wk), Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ismat Alam, Azmatullah Omarzai, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Zahir Shehzad, Rashid Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad Afghan, Naveed Zadran, Fareed Ahmad Malik.
Reserves: Nasir Jamal, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai.
