Afghanistan have announced their squad for the one-off Test match against Sri Lanka that will be played from February 2 to February 6 at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Colombo. Their talismanic cricketer Rashid Khan continues to recover from back injury and will miss the Test match. Another spinner Qais Ahmed has been called up in the squad as his replacement while two players - Naveed Zadran and Mohammad Ishaq - have earned their maiden call-ups to the side.
Notably, this is the first time that Afghanistan will lock horns against Sri Lanka in Tests and ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf is looking forward to the Test match. "It’s quite pleasing to be playing our first test against Sri Lanka, who have a rich history of playing test-match cricket. The year 2024 is packed with test cricket for us, as we will be playing several test matches during the year. Same as our white-ball lineups, we are committed to strengthening our red-ball cricket and building a formidable test side as well," he said.
The squad has been picked after the players underwent two-week preparation camp in Nangarhar followed by a 10-day conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi. Moreover, the players have been rewarded for their exceptional performances in domestic cricket as well.
"The team underwent a two-week preparation camp in Nangarhar followed by a 10-day conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi, which featured all the support staff to work with the players and ensure full preparation for the series. We have thoroughly monitored the camps and have picked the squad which includes several new faces who have excelled well during the recent domestic events," Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil, the newly appointed interim Chief Selector said.
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Ikram Alikhail (WK), Mohammad Ishaq (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah, Nasir Jamal, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Nijat Masoud, Mohammad Saleem Safi and Naveed Zadran.
