Afghanistan's ace spinner Rashid Khan is set to play his first Test match in more than three years after having been named in their squad for the upcoming two-Test series in Zimbabwe.
Rashid had earlier taken a break from the longest format on medical advice because of a groin injury. Rashid's last Test, which also came against Zimbabwe, was back in March 2021 in Abu Dhabi.
The squad includes seven uncapped players, including allrounder Ismat Alam, left-arm spinner Zahir Shehzad and left-arm quick Bashir Ahmad Afghan. The trio has been rewarded for its strong domestic performances and will join Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad, Riaz Hassan and Sediqullah Atal who are also yet to represent Afghanistan in Test cricket. Omarzai, Fareed and Riaz were all part of the squad, though, for the one-off Test against New Zealand, which was washed out without a ball being bowled in September earlier this year.
"Rashid Khan returns to the Test squad, which is a promising sign for our red-ball game going forward," Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil, ACB's interim chief selector, said in a statement. "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.
"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 first-class tournament."
Meanwhile, Nasir Jamal, Zia Ur Rehman, and Mohammad Ibrahim will be part of the group as reserve players.
Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott, who was in charge of the ODI leg of the team's multi-format tour of Zimbabwe, has made himself unavailable for other formats of this tour for personal reasons. Hamid Hassan will stand in as head coach and Nawroz Mangal as the assistant coach in Trott's absence. Hashmatullah Shahidi will continue to lead the team, with Rahmat Shah being his deputy.
Bulawayo will host both the Test matches, with the series running from December 26 to January 6.
Afghanistan Test squad
Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah (vice-capt), Ikram Alikhail (wk), Afsar Zazai (wk), Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Bahir Shah, Ismat Alam, Azmatullah Omarzai, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman, Zahir Shehzad, Rashid Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad, Naveed Zadran, Fareed Ahmad