KABUL: The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) on Tuesday announced the individual squads for India in the longer formats, which include a single Test and a three-match ODI series scheduled from June 6 to 20.
Experienced top-order batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi will lead Afghanistan in both the ODI series and the lone Test, which will mark only the second meeting between the two sides.
For the red-ball tournament to be held in New Chandigarh from June 6 to 10, the tour team has made several changes to their squad, which played only one Test against Zimbabwe last year, including Sethiqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Sadran, Asmatullah Omarzai, Nahmatullah Omarzai and Nanghai. Salim Safi replaced Ibrahim Sadran, Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Ismad Alam, Sharabuddin Ashraf, Zia ur Rehman Akbar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Khalil Gurbaz and Bashir Ahmad.
However, Afghanistan retained most of the players from the squad that played the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in October last year, making only three changes, with Zia U Rahman Sharibi, Fareed Malik and Bilal Sami replacing Abdullah Ahmadzai, Bashir Ahmed and Mohammad Saleem Safi.
The three-match ODI, the first bilateral series between India and Afghanistan, will begin on June 14 with the opening match in Dharamshala, while Lucknow and Chennai will host the next two matches on June 17 and 20 respectively.
Afghanistan squad for tour of India
ODI: Hashmatullah Shahidi (catch), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (VK), Ibrahim Sadran, Sediqullah Atal, Darveesh Rasooli, Rahmat Shah, Ikram Aligil (VK), Mohammad Nabi, Asmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Sharhazai, Faman Sharhazai, Malik and Bilal Sami.
Reserves: Qais Ahmed, Saleem Safi and Basheer Ahmed.
Test: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmanullah Sadran, Afsar Jazai (week), Ikram Alikil (Wk), Azmatullah Umarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Nangyal Sharmad, Quyal Sharmat Salim Safi.
Reserves: Basheer Ahmed, Bahir Shah and Ismad Alam.