Afghanistan Will Be Missing Rashid Khan For One-Off Test vs New Zealand : Before their momentous one-off Test match against New Zealand, which will happen in Greater Noida, India, from September 9 to 13, 2024, Afghanistan’s cricket team undergoes a considerable setback. Star leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who plays an essential role in Afghanistan’s bowling attack, has been ruled out owing to a back injury he sustained last month during the Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL).
This is not the first time that Rashid has had injury challenges; earlier this year, while participating in England’s Hundred competition, he also suffered from a hamstring strain.
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The unavailability of Rashid Khan is very painful for Afghanistan because he is their most prolific bowler in Test cricket, having had 34 wickets in only five Test matches at a remarkable average of 22.35. A gaping hole has been left by his absence as Afghanistan prepares for its first-ever match against New Zealand.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named a preliminary squad of twenty players under the captaincy of Hashmatullah Shahidi ahead of the Test match. After spending one-week of training camp ahead of the Test match series in India, fifteen will be chosen in the total final selection. There are some promising young players included in the squad who have made a mark at home, signaling a possible transition towards grooming future stars.
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20-member squad of Afghanistan:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Malik, Afsar Zazai (Wk), Rahmat Shah, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ikram Alikhel (Wk), Shahidullah Kamal, Zahir Khan, Gulbadin Naib, Azmatullah Omarzai, Ziaurrahman Akbar, Shamsurrahman, Qais Ahmad, Nijat Masoud, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveed Zadran, Yama Arab, Khalil Ahmad.
