ACB announces preliminary squad before the one off test against New Zealand

Prior to the lone test matchup with New Zealand, ACB releases the preliminary team.

Kabul: August 26, 2024: The Afghanistan Cricket Board's Selection Committee announced the names of a preliminary squad of twenty players for the September 9–13, Greater Noida, India, one-off test match versus New Zealand.

On August 28, the 20-man team will depart for India and report to a one-week training camp in Greater Noida.

The final roster, which will be determined by the players' performance and fitness, will be revealed at the conclusion of the camp, according to representatives of the selection committee. "20 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," Chief Selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhel stated.

The following players are part of the preliminary squad:

Captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ikram Alikhel (wk), Shahidullah Kamal, Gulbadin Naib, Afsar Zazai (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Shamsurrahman, Ziaurrahman Akbar, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Nijat Masoud, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveed Zadran, Khalil Ahmad, and Yama Arab have all been named.

"I am happy to see some youngsters in the squad who performed well in domestic cricket and have gotten the opportunity to be part of the test squad for this test match," said Mr. Mirwais Ashraf, chairman of the ACB. He went on to say that the ACB is excited to be starting its first bilateral match with New Zealand, a top test cricket team, and that they are looking forward to a competitive match between the Afghan Atalan and Bruins.

It is important to note that these players participated in a full package preparation camp in Nangarhar province, which has conditions comparable to those in India, prior to the ninth Shpageeza Cricket League.