Skippers unveil trophy for maiden Test match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka and Afghanistan skippers, Dhananjaya de Silva and Hashmatullah Shahidi respectively, on Thursday unveiled the trophy for the maiden Test match between the two nations at the Independence Square in Colombo.

The Test, which gets underway on Friday, will be Afghanistan’s 8th red ball match since gaining test status in 2017.

Senior Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan will miss the one-off event as he continues to recover from back surgery. Qais Ahmed, whose only Test came five years ago, has been named in the squad in place of Rashid.

There are also four uncapped players in the squad – Noor Ali Zadran, Zia-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Ishaq and Naveed Zadran.

Noor Ali, who is related to Mujeeb ur Rahman and Ibrahim Zadran, is the most experienced of the four with 74 international caps to his name in ODIs and T20Is.

The 35-year-old is yet to make his Test debut. He, however, made his ODI debut as early as 2009, in Afghanistan’s first ever ODI.

Afghanistan’s last Test came in June 2023, when the team lost to Bangladesh by a huge margin.

The tour of Sri Lanka also includes three ODIs and as many T20Is, which follow the one-off Test.

Sri Lanka meanwhile hope to revive their flagging test fortunes with new five-day captain Dhananjaya de Silva taking the helm for the Test.

The island nation is ranked in 8th place on the ICC’s Men’s Test Team Rankings, while Afghanistan is ranked 11th.

Sri Lank’s last match in October last year saw a humiliating innings and 222-run loss to Pakistan in their worst ever home defeat.

Three uncapped players are among Sri Lanka’s 16-member squad.

Afghanistan Cricket Board chair, Mirwais Ashraf, meanwhile said last month that the board and team “are committed to strengthening our red-ball cricket and building a formidable test side as well.”

Test squads

Afghanistan: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Bahir Shah, Nasir Jamal, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Qais Ahmad, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Nijat Masood, Mohammad Saleem, Naveed Zadran.

Sri Lanka: Dhananjaya de Silva (capt), Kusal Mendis, Dimuth Karunaratne, Nishan Madushka, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ramesh Mendis, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Kasun Rajitha, Kamindu Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Lahiru Udara, Chamika Gunasekara, Milan Rathnayake.

Stay Tuned to Ariana Television!

Fans will be pleased to know that this exciting tour will be screened live and exclusively in Afghanistan on Ariana Television.

First up is the Test which is scheduled from Friday, February 2 to 6.

The match will start at 9am Kabul time but a pre-match broadcast starts at 8am on Friday.