Afghanistan announce squad for India series

Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has announced the nation’s squads for the upcoming Test and ODI series against India national cricket team, with Hashmatullah Shahidi set to captain both sides.

The one-off Test, beginning on June 6 in New Chandigarh, will be Afghanistan’s first Test against India since their historic debut in red-ball cricket in 2018.

Star spinner Rashid Khan and opener Ibrahim Zadran were left out of the Test squad but retained for the ODI series.

The Test squad also includes first-time call-ups for Nangyal Kharoti, Bilal Sami and Rahmanullah Zadran, while spinner Qais Ahmad returns to the red-ball setup. Sediqullah Atal and Azmatullah Omarzai, who have each played only one Test match so far, were also named in the squad.

Meanwhile, India will be without pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah for both the Test and ODI legs of the series.

Fixtures

One-off Test: June 6–10, New Chandigarh

1st ODI: June 13, Dharamsala

2nd ODI: June 17, Lucknow

3rd ODI: June 20, Chennai

Afghanistan Test squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmanullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafudin Ashraf, Nangyal Kharotai, Qais Ahmad, Bilal Sami, Zia Sharifi, Saleem Safi

Afghanistan ODI squad: Hasmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darwish Rasooli, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharotai, AM Ghazanfar, Zia U Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Malik, Bilal Sami