The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) announced its national squads Wednesday for a one-off Test match and a three‑game T20I series against Zimbabwe, to be held Oct. 20 to Nov. 2 at Harare Sports Club.
In the Test squad, left‑arm fast bowler Bashir Ahmad retains his spot after appearing in recent ODIs and T20Is. New inclusions include right‑arm pacer Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, left‑arm spinner Sharafuddin Ashraf, right‑arm leg spinner Khalil Gurbaz—all praised for their strong domestic red‑ball performances—and spin‑bowling all‑rounder Shahidullah Kamal, who also joins the T20I squad. Star spinner Rashid Khan will be rested as a precaution to preserve his fitness for upcoming events.
The T20I squad also welcomes back middle‑order batter Ijaz Ahmadzai, who debuted in 2024, along with Shahidullah Kamal, who excelled in the recent Super Cricket League (SCL) season.
The reserve list includes fast bowlers Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Sediqullah Atal, and Shams Ur Rahman.
“Because of our domestic and high‑performance programs, we are now consistently playing bilateral series one after another, and the outcomes of our long‑term efforts have been very positive so far,” said ACB CEO Naseeb Khan, referring to the team’s busy international calendar following the home series against Bangladesh.
Squads
Test — Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Afsar Zazai (wk), Ikram Alikhel (wk), Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Ismat Alam, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Zia Ur Rahman Akbar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Zia Ur Rahman Sharifi, Khalil Gurbaz, Bashir Ahmad.
Reserves: Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Sediqullah Atal, Shams Ur Rahman.
T20I — Rashid Khan (c), Ibrahim Zadran (vc), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Shahidullah Kamal, Ijaz Ahmadzai, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Noor Ahmad, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Bashir Ahmad, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Abdullah Ahmadzai.
Reserves: AM Ghazanfar, Faridoon Dawoodzai.
Schedule
Oct. 20–24 — Only Test (Harare)
Oct. 29 — 1st T20I (Harare)
Oct. 31 — 2nd T20I (Harare)
Nov. 2 — 3rd T20I (Harare)
