The Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced that Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the Afghanistan national team in both formats—One Day Internationals (ODIs) and Test matches—in the upcoming series against India.
On Tuesday, the Cricket Board announced two separate 15-member squads for this series: one for the ODI matches and another for the only Test match. Shahidi will remain the captain of both squads.
The announced squads also include prominent Afghan players such as Rashid Khan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi, and Azmatullah Omarzai.
In the ODI squad, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran have been named as opening batsmen. Mohammad Nabi and Azmatullah Omarzai will strengthen the team’s balance as all-rounders.
In the bowling department, along with Rashid Khan, young spinner Ghazanfar and fast bowlers Bilal Sami, Farid Malik, and Ziaurrahman Sharifi are also included.
For the Test match squad, several changes have been made. Abdul Malik, Rahmanullah Zadran, and Sharafuddin Ashraf have been added to the squad. Rahmat Shah and Rahmanullah Gurbaz have retained their places, and Ikram Alikhil and Afser Zazai have been selected as wicketkeepers.
Rashid Khan has not been included in the Test squad, and in his place Qais Ahmad, Nangyal Kharoti, and Sharafuddin Ashraf have been selected.
The only Test match between India and Afghanistan is scheduled to be held from June 6 to June 10 in New Chandigarh. After that, three ODIs will take place on June 13, 17, and 20 in Dharamshala, Lucknow, and Chennai.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
