Afghanistan Cricket team have added left-arm spinner Zahir Khan and left-arm fast bowler Sayed Shirzad to their squad for their maiden Test match at home against Ireland. Meanwhile, the five-day encounter commences on March 15 (Friday) at Dehradun, Afghanistan’s revamped home turf.
Zahir returns to Afghanistan squad
The 20-year-old Zahir has been around the national team for quite some time now. However, he made his debut in the last ODI against Ireland, returning with figures of two for 55. Zahir has a good beat of experience playing in T20 franchise leagues around the globe. He has represented Lancashire in the Vitality T20 Blast and has also featured in the Indian Premier League for the Kings XI Punjab. Zahir Khan, meanwhile, first served Afghanistan in 2015 in the Intercontinental Cup. He was also a part of the U19 Afghanistan squad that reached the semifinals in 2018. However, his international career suffered a setback due to several injuries.
On the other hand, Sayed Shirzadi has some experience behind his back. He has played four T20Is and made his ODI debut during the Ireland series. His first-class record is also eye-catching with 49 wickets from 15 games at an average of 25.38. Speaking about the selection, Dawlat Ahmadzi hailed both Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzadi saying that they have good records in first-class cricket. Beside, Dawlat noted that they were waiting for fitness report Zahir Khan to announce the squad.
“Both Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzad have very good bowling records in first-class cricket and have played in the ICC Intercontinental Cup for Afghanistan,” said chief selector Dawlat Ahmadzi.
“We were awaiting Zahir’s fitness report when announcing the initial 14-member Test squad and now that he is fully fit, we have decided to add him to the squad. Sayed Shirzad is added as an additional pacer in the squad to have another bowling option if needed,” he added.
Afghanistan Squad for the Test against Ireland:
Asghar Afghan (c), Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Ihsanullah Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Nasir Jamal, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ikram Alikhail, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Wafadar Momand, Yamin Ahmadzai, Sharafudin Ashraf, Waqar Salamkhail, Zahir Khan, Sayed Shirzad