The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Monday announced the nation’s squad for the one-off Test match against Sri Lanka that is scheduled to be played from February 2-6 at the Sinhalese Sports Club Cricket Ground in Colombo.

Rashid Khan continues to recover from back surgery and will miss the Test match.

Meanwhile, the leg-spinning bowling all-rounder Qais Ahmad has been included in the squad as his replacement.
In addition, Noor Ali Zadran has been selected based on his recent promising performances in domestic competitions, ACB said.

Naveed Zadran and Mohammad Ishaq, a wicket-keeper batter, have earned maiden call-ups to the team. Both put on some impressive performances during last year’s Ahmad Shah Abdali First Class and the recently held Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional List A Tournament, as well as during Afghanistan A team’s tour of Oman in October last year.

“It’s quite pleasing to be playing our first test against Sri Lanka, who have a rich history of playing test-match cricket,” ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said. “The year 2024 is packed with test cricket for us, as we will be playing several test matches during the year. Same as our white-ball lineups, we are committed to strengthening our red-ball cricket and building a formidable test side as well.”

Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil, the newly appointed interim Chief Selector, said: “The team underwent a two-week preparation camp in Nangarhar followed by a 10-day conditioning camp in Abu Dhabi, which featured all the support staff to work with the players and ensure full preparation for the series. We have thoroughly monitored the camps and have picked the squad which includes several new faces who have excelled during the recent domestic events.”

This will be Afghanistan's 8th overall Test match and its first against Sri Lanka.

Afghanistan squad:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Ikram Alikhail (WK), Mohammad Ishaq (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah, Nasir Jamal, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Nijat Masoud, Mohammad Saleem Safi and Naveed Zadran.

Afghanistan’s Tour of Sri Lanka

Afghanistan will start their tour of Sri Lanka with a one-off Test scheduled to start on February 2.

Following the Test, Afghanistan will play a three-match ODI series and then three T20Is against the host nation.

All matches, including the Test, will be broadcast live on Ariana Television.

The team is scheduled to arrive in Sri Lanka on January 30.

With most of the focus on the two limited-overs formats, Afghanistan ended up playing just one Test match over the better part of the last three years. Now, however, they’ve found space in the calendar and have two separate all-format series taking place between February 2 and March 18.

Afghanistan tour of Sri Lanka

February 2-6, 2024 One-Off Test
February 9, 2024, 1st ODI
February 11, 2024, 2nd ODI
February 14, 2024, 3rd ODI
February 17, 2024, 1st T20I
February 19, 2024, 2nd T20I
February 21, 2024, 3rd T20I

Stay tuned!

Fans across Afghanistan can tune in to watch this exciting tour that will be brought to you live and exclusively by Ariana Television Network.

Watch this space for updates, news, and broadcast schedules!