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No Rashid Khan As Zimbabwe Ask Afghanistan To Bowl First In Boxing Day Test

Abhinav Tyagi∙ Updated: Dec 26 2024, 1:26 PM

AfghanistanvsZimbabwe- (Source:@Zimbabwe/X.com)AfghanistanvsZimbabwe- (Source:@Zimbabwe/X.com)

In the first of the two Test match series between Zimbabwe and Afghanistan at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, the hosts have won the toss and opted to bat first. It is Zimbabwe's fourth Boxing Day Test, while it is Afghanistan's first in their Test history. 

Afghanistan will miss Rashid Khan, who has withdrawn from the squad for the first two Tests. Meanwhile, another spinner Allah Ghazanfar has been added to the team. Talking about the upcoming Test,  the playing XI is yet to come out. 

Notably, it is Zimbabwe and Afghanistan's 3rd Test encounter and their head to head record is levelled at 1-1. For Zimbabwe, three players are making their Test debut - Newman Nyamhuri, Trevor Gwandu and Ben Curran.

Meanwhile, for Afghanistan, they too have three debutant in Test cricket. Notably, Sediqullah Atal, Allah Mohammad Ghazanafar and Azmatullah Omarzai are debuting for Afghanistan.

Playing XI

Afghanistan Playing XI: Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Naveed Zadran, Azmatullah Omarzai, Afsar Zazai (wk), Shahidullah Kamal, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan

Zimbabwe Playing XI: Joylord Gumbie (wk), Ben Curran, Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Sean Williams, Dion Myers, Craig Ervine (c), Brian Bennett, Brandon Mavuta, Newman Nyamhuri, Blessing Muzarabani, Trevor Gwandu

Captains' Thoughts

Craig Ervine (Zimbabwe Captain): "We are gonna bat first. The wicket looks really good—perhaps a little dry—but the overhead conditions are favorable. Hopefully, we can put some runs on the board.

Hashmatullah Shahidi (Afghanistan Captain): "To be honest, I wanted to bat first as well, but we can take it (toss) positively. 


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