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Afghanistan's star spinner Rashid Khan is notably missing from their 20-member preliminary squad for the upcoming one-off Test against New Zealand next month.
The match is scheduled to take place in Greater Noida from September 9 to 13. Rashid last played a Test match for Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi back in March 2021, and his absence from the squad remains unexplained, as no official reason has been provided by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). The squad will depart for India on August 28 to participate in a one-week preparatory camp. Rashid was recently seen in action as captain of the Speen Ghar Tigers in the Shpageeza T20 League in Kabul, where he demonstrated his all-round capabilities. In a recent truncated game, he scored 53 runs off 26 balls and took a wicket, showcasing his form and fitness. Ahmad Shah Sulimankhel, the chief selector, clarified that the final 15-member squad for the Test against New Zealand will be selected based on the performance and fitness of the players during the training camp. "Twenty players have been selected for the training camp and a 15-member squad will be selected to play the only Test match against New Zealand after observing their performance and fitness," Sulimankhel stated, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. Seam-bowling allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai is set to potentially make his Test debut, having been included in the preliminary squad. Omarzai has become a regular in Afghanistan's white-ball setup but is yet to earn his Test cap. His experience in the long format is limited to just five first-class matches. Omarzai recently withdrew from his Caribbean Premier League (CPL) commitments with Antigua & Barbuda Falcons, being replaced by England's Sam Billings. The CPL 2024 schedule overlaps with both the Test match against New Zealand and the subsequent ODI series against South Africa in the UAE in September. Hashmatullah Shahidi will continue to lead Afghanistan as the team's captain. In addition, the coaching staff will see a new face with R Sridhar joining as the assistant coach. Sridhar, who served as India's fielding coach from 2014 to 2021, was part of Ravi Shastri's coaching team and will now bring his expertise to Afghanistan's camp for the series against New Zealand and South Africa. The forthcoming Test against New Zealand will be Afghanistan's 10th Test match overall and their third in 2024, making it their busiest year in the format to date. Afghanistan Preliminary Squad for One-off Test Against New Zealand: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ikram Alikhil (wicketkeeper), Shahidullah Kamal, Gulbadin Naib, Afsar Zazai (wicketkeeper), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ziaurrahman Akbar, Shamsurrahman, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Nijat Masoud, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveed Zadran, Khalil Ahmad, Yama Arab. (ANI)
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