Rashid Khan is all set to begin his stint as Afghanistan’s all-format captain in the upcoming tour of Bangladesh. He will be leading the Test and T20I squads featuring familiar as well as new players.
The September tour will get underway with a one-off Test match to be held in Chattogram.
Apart from suspended Mohammad Shahzad, middle-order batsman Nasir Jamal, left-arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf, pacer Wafadar Momand, and left-arm wrist spinner Waqar Salamkheil have all been excluded from the squad.
Both left-arm paceman Shapoor Zadran and wicket-keeper batsman Afsar Zazai have been included. The other two, who made the cut were left-arm wrist-spinner Zahir Khan, and medium-pacer Ahmad Shirzad. Besides, a couple of players who have never represented Afghanistan – opening batsman Ibrahim Zadran and leg-spinner Qais Ahmad were also given a golden opportunity.
Veterans Mohammad Nabi and Asghar Afghan, along with other experienced players like Rahmat Shah and Hashmatullah Shahidi are a part of the 15-member squad too.
The Test is scheduled from September 5-9, followed by a triangular T20I series involving Zimbabwe, to be played from September 13-24. Apart from the regulars, the side also has the uncapped threesome – left-hand batsman Shahidullah, medium pace-bowling all-rounder Fazal Niazai, and wicketkeeper-batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
“We have selected a 17-member squad for the T20I matches as per the advice of the captain as we have two important tournaments – T20I Asia Cup and ICC T20 World Cup 2020 – ahead of us,” chief selector Andy Moles said.
“We will seek to prepare good sides for these tournaments and those players who perform well, will be considered for selection.”
“We will also consider the performance of players in the upcoming Shpageeza Cricket League and Afghanistan Premier League T20 for future selection,” he added.
The Test squad will travel to Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, where the players will train from September 22 to 29 before leaving for Bangladesh.
Here are the Test and T20I squads –
Test: Rashid Khan (c), Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Ihsanullah, Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Zahir Khan, Javed Ahmadi, Ahmad Shirzad, Yamin Ahmadzai, Afsar Zazai (wk), Shapoor Zadran, Qais Ahmad
T20I: Rashid Khan (c), Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi, Hazratullah Zazai, Najeeb Tarakai, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Najibullah Zadran, Shahidullah, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Fareed Ahmad, Shafiqullah, Fazal Niazai, Dawlat Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk)
