KABUL: Rashid Khan is set to play Test cricket for the first time in nearly four years after the world-renowned spinner was named Monday in Afghanistan’s squad for a series in Zimbabwe.

The 26-year-old missed Afghanistan’s most recent Test matches on medical advice to heal a back injury for which he underwent surgery earlier this year.

He last played a Test against Zimbabwe in March 2021 but has been featuring in white-ball cricket.

The two-match Test series is scheduled from December 26 to January 6 in Bulawayo.

“Rashid Khan’s return to the Test squad is a promising sign for our red-ball game going forward and we expect good performance from the team,” said Afghanistan Cricket Board’s interim chief selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil.

Left-arm top-order batter Sediqullah Atal, who has played ODIs and T20Is, has been added to the Test squad for the first time.

Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead the side.

Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (captain), Rahmat Shah, Ikram Alikhail, Afsar Zazai, Riaz Hassan, Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ismat Alam, Azmatullah Omarzai, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Zahir Shehzad, Rashid Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmad Afghan, Naveed Zadran, Fareed Ahmad Malik.

Published in Dawn, December 17th, 2024