Afghanistan’s prolific top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran has been ruled out of the upcoming one-off Test against New Zealand and the three-match ODI series against South Africa due to an ankle sprain in his left leg, the Afghan cricket board announced Sunday.

Afghanistan’s test against New Zealand is scheduled to start on Monday in Greater Noida near New Delhi.

The three-match ODI series against South Africa will kick off on September 18.

Afghanistan have already been dealt a big blow with spin spearhead Rashid Khan and fast bowler Naveed Zadran thrown out of action with injuries.

Afghanistan’s skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said Sunday the team needs to play more Tests and have just “one good home venue” in India in order to improve in the red-ball format.

Addressing the media on the eve of Afghanistan’s one-off Test against New Zealand, Shahidi said nine games in six years is not enough.

“If we get a lot more chances with the good teams, we will improve.”

“I think if we get more chances on a regular basis, we will improve a lot because if we see as a team and as a country, we are brave people and we always accept challenges,” he said.

“I think it will be very good for us as a side. If you look at our past, we get one Test match and we start preparing for that ten days before. So it’s not easy to come to red-ball cricket.

“Playing matches will make us even better on judging the ball and playing good cricket in red-ball format, compared to playing in the nets. So if we play three-four games back to back I think it will be better,” he said.

Ranked 12th in the ICC Test rankings, Afghanistan are a force in the white-ball formats, ranked ninth in ODIs and tenth in T20Is.

Apart from hoping to play Test cricket more frequently going forward, Shahidi said he also wants “one good home venue” in India instead of the team having to travel from place to host teams.

For this Test, which starts on Monday, Afghanistan will host New Zealand in Greater Noida, near Delhi. Since becoming a Full Member, their other home Tests have been in Dehradun, Lucknow and Abu Dhabi.

But Shahidi believes that sticking to only one home venue will make them stronger.

He pointed out that while India is considered home, the other nations they have played have had more games in India than Afghanistan has.

“So hopefully we will get one good venue here in India and we stick with that. If we stick with one venue, it will be more effective for us,” he said.

Following their press conference, Shahidi and his New Zealand counterpart Tim Southee unveiled the trophy for their one-off Test – which will hopefully go off as planned as the weather forecast for the coming week points towards rain.

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With only six days until the opening match of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Uzbekistan 2024™ and preparations for the tournament entering their final stages, the squad lists for the 24 participating teams have now been finalized.

A total of 336 players will take part in the 10th edition of the tournament, which will be held from 14 September to 6 October 2024 with matches in three host cities in Uzbekistan: Andijan, Bukhara and Tashkent.

The competition will feature the world’s best futsal teams and players – with all six confederations represented among the 24 competing nations, including four countries appearing at a FIFA Futsal World Cup™ for the first time.

Afghanistan is one of the four countries competing for the first time, along with France, New Zealand and Tajikistan.

Argentina, champions and runners-up respectively at the last two editions, have named a formidable squad, including five of the players who conquered the FIFA Futsal World Cup™ crown in 2016.

Among the stellar line-up revealed by defending champions Portugal, Pany Varela (adidas Silver Ball and Silver Boot in 2021) stands out. Goals are also assured with the presence of Brazil’s Ferrao, the adidas Golden Boot winner of the last World Cup.

Host nation Uzbekistan will make history as they get their campaign at the first-ever FIFA competition in Central Asia under way when they kick off against the Netherlands on 14 September 2024 – while the new world champions will be crowned in the capital city of Tashkent on 6 October 2024.

Afghanistan’s first match will be against Angola and will take place on September 15.

For local fans, all the action will once again be broadcast in Afghanistan by Ariana Television Network (ATN), and reports indicate the team will be cheered on by Afghans living in and visiting neighboring Uzbekistan.

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