Afghanistan have named a 15-man squad for the solitary Test against India in New Chandigarh (6-10 June), and the headline is who is missing as much as who is in. Rashid Khan and Ibrahim Zadran, two of the side’s senior pillars, have been rested, while three uncapped players – seamer Bilal Sami, all-rounder Nangyal Kharotai and batter Rahmanullah Zadran – receive first Test call-ups. Leg-spinner Qais Ahmad, out of the Test set-up since 2024, also returns.
Team management say Ibrahim is still easing back from a leg injury and that Rashid’s workload remains under medical scrutiny. The leg-spinner admitted earlier this year that his doctor had urged him to ease off red-ball cricket. “When [my doctor] knew I bowled 67 [55] overs in one innings, in two innings, he was shocked. He was ‘no, you can’t do that to yourself’,” Rashid said. Afghanistan, remember, are outside the World Test Championship cycle, so they can afford to manage him carefully.
Hashmatullah Shahidi continues as Test and ODI captain. The board has more or less split the tour in two: the Test first, then three ODIs from 13-20 June, for which both Rashid and Ibrahim are expected to rejoin the group.
The opposition will stir a few memories. Afghanistan’s Test debut came against India in Bengaluru back in 2018; they were beaten by an innings and 262 runs in two breathless days. Things have moved on. Four wins from ten Tests since then suggest progress, even if the sample size is small and opposition has varied. That said, facing India in their own conditions remains a steep learning curve.
Lead selector Noor Malik (never shy of a calm take) said the panel wanted balance without overloading players. “It’s about giving fresh faces an opportunity but also protecting seniors for the white-ball leg,” he noted in Kabul yesterday.
For the new names, the task is clear enough: occupy the crease, hold line and length, give the spinners something to work with. New Chandigarh is not quite old Mohali in character, yet early-season surfaces there still tend to keep the slower bowlers in play from day two onward.
Afghanistan Test squad
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmanullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangyal Kharotai, Qais Ahmad, Bilal Sami, Zia Sharifi, Saleem Safi
Afghanistan ODI squad
Hashmatullah 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 ur Rahman Sharifi, Fareed Malik, Bilal Sami
One Test, three ODIs. Small window, plenty at stake, and Afghanistan trying to juggle immediacy with the long game.
