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Rashid Khan Returns To Test Cricket After Four Years; ACB Announces Squad Vs Zimbabwe

Rajgeeta Yadav

Rashid Khan returns to the Test Squad [Source: @googly_555/X.com] Rashid Khan returns to the Test Squad [Source: @googly_555/X.com] 

Rashid Khan is set to make his much-anticipated return to Test cricket after nearly four years. The Afghanistan Cricket Board has announced 18-player squad for the two-match Test series against Zimbabwe, scheduled from December 26, 2024, to January 6, 2025, in Bulawayo.

The star spinner last played a Test match in March 2021 against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi. Now 26, he is ready to take on the same opposition once again. This will be Afghanistan’s 11th Test match overall and their third against Zimbabwe. Afghanistan has previously secured Test wins against Ireland, Bangladesh, and Zimbabwe.

New Faces In the Afghanistan Squad

The squad features several fresh additions:

  •  Sediqullah Atal, a left-handed top-order batter, earns his first Test call-up after representing Afghanistan in ODIs and T20Is.
  •  Ismat Alam, a young medium-fast bowling all-rounder, is back in the Test setup after impressing in domestic cricket, scoring 723 runs and taking 12 wickets in the Ahmad Shah Abdali First-Class Competition.
  •  Zahir Shehzad, a slow left-arm spinner, joins after performing well in the same domestic tournament.
  •  Bashir Ahmad Afghan, a left-arm fast bowler, is another debutant after grabbing 30 wickets at an average of 17.36 in domestic cricket.


The team also includes seven uncapped players, such as Azmatullah Omarzai, Fareed Ahmad Malik, and Riaz Hassan, who were part of the squad for the washed-out Test against New Zealand but are yet to make their debut.

Afghanistan squad for Zimbabwe Tests

Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Ikram Alikhail (WK), Afsar Zazai (WK), Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ismat Alam, Azmatullah Omarzai, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Zahir Shehzad, Rashid Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad Afghan, Naveed Zadran, and Fareed Ahmad Malik