Omarzai in Line for Afghanistan Test Debut
Afghanistan’s spin sensation Rashid Khan has been excluded from the preliminary 20-member squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand, which is set to take place in Greater Noida from September 9 to 13. Rashid last featured in a Test match for Afghanistan in March 2021 in Abu Dhabi, but the reason for his absence from the squad was not specified in the statement released by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).
Meanwhile, seam-bowling all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai is in line to make his Test debut for Afghanistan. Omarzai has established himself as a regular in Afghanistan’s white-ball cricket, but he is yet to feature in a Test match, with his first-class experience also limited to just five games. Omarzai was recently pulled out of his Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2024 stint with Antigua & Barbuda Falcons, with England’s Sam Billings replacing him.
“The CPL 2024 will overlap with the Test match against New Zealand and the ODI series that follows against South Africa in the UAE, also in September.”
Hashmatullah Shahidi will continue to lead the Afghan Test side, while R Sridhar, who previously served as India’s fielding coach from 2014 to 2021, has been appointed as the new assistant coach for the upcoming series against New Zealand and South Africa.
The Test against New Zealand will be Afghanistan’s 10th overall and their third of 2024 – the most they have played in a calendar year.
Afghanistan squad:
- Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt)
- Ibrahim Zadran
- Riaz Hassan
- Abdul Malik
- Rahmat Shah
- Baheer Shah Mahboob
- Ikram Alikhil (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
- Yama Arab
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