INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday announced the nation&s squad for the one-off test match against Ireland that is scheduled to be
played from February 28 to March 3 at the Tolerance Oval in Abu Dhabi.Rahmanullah Gurbaz has been added to the test squad and is expected to
be a potential debutant for Afghanistan against Ireland
In addition, a right-arm leg-spinner, Khalil Gurbaz, is expected to provide his leg-break bowling services.Fast Bowler Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai
has also been recalled to the squad after featuring in the Afghanistan squad for the Bangladesh tour in June last year
Yamin Ahmadzai and Mohammad Saleem Safi who were part of Afghanistan&s squad for the Sri Lanka test earlier this month, miss out on the
selection due to injuries.ACB CEO Naseeb Khan stated that Afghanistan carries a rich playing history against Ireland over the past 15
years.&We have quite a good playing history with Ireland, both countries have played plenty of cricket against each other and have been
granted ICC Full Membership at the same time
This will be our second test against them and we are eagerly looking forward to what will be an exciting test match between the two team,&
he said.&We will also be playing tests against Bangladesh, New Zealand (for the first time) and Zimbabwe later in the year, so we are
looking forward to building a formidable lineup for the test matches ahead.&Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil, ACB&s interim Chief Selector said: &The
team underwent a 10-day conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi, which featured 22 players and all the support staff to work with the players and
ensure full preparation for the series
We have thoroughly monitored the proceedings and have picked the squad which includes several new faces who have excelled well during the
recent domestic events.&Afghanistan Squad for the one-off test against Ireland: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Ikram Alikhail
(WK), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah, Nasir Jamal, Karim Janat, Khalil Gurbaz, Zahir
Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Nijat Masoud, Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai and Naveed Zadran.This will be Afghanistan&s 9th overall test match and
The one-off test match against Ireland will be followed by 5 more test matches this year, including a two-test home series against
Bangladesh and a one-off home test against New Zealand
Afghanistan has previously won three test matches each against Ireland (2019), Bangladesh (2019), and Zimbabwe (2021).The post Gurbaz
included in Afghanistan&s squad for one-off test against Ireland first appeared on Ariana News.
