Afghanistan pick 20-member preliminary squad for one-off Test against New Zealand

Kabul, Aug 26 (IANS) Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has named a 20-member preliminary squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand from September 9-13 in Greater Noida, India. The 20-member squad will leave for India on August 28 and attend a one-week preparation camp in Greater Noida. The officials from the selection committee said that the final squad will be announced at the end of the camp considering players’ performance and fitness.

Afghanistan chief selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhel said, “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.”

Said ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf: “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.”

He further added that ACB is delighted to be embarking on its maiden bilateral event with New Zealand which is a quality side in test cricket and looks forward to a competitive event between black caps and Afghan Atalan.”

"It is worth mentioning that before the 9th edition of Shpageeza Cricket League, these players attended a full package preparation camp in Nangarhar province too that carries similar conditions to India," he added.

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.

In the last Test match against Ireland earlier this year, Afghanistan faced a six-wicket loss in Abu Dhabi.

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