Rashid Khan absent as Afghanistan announce preliminary squad for one-off Test against New Zealand

Afghanistan has announced a preliminary squad of 20 players for their upcoming one-off Test against New Zealand, scheduled to take place from September 9-13 in Greater Noida, India.

The squad includes several key players who were instrumental in Afghanistan's journey to the semi-finals of the recent ICC Men's T20 World Cup. However, notable by his absence is star spinner Rashid Khan, who is not part of the squad.

While Afghanistan has not provided an official reason for Rashid's omission, it's worth noting that he sustained a hamstring injury while participating in England's domestic Hundred competition earlier this month.

The squad, led by captain Hashmatullah Shahidi, is set to depart for India on August 28 for a week-long training camp.

Following the camp, the squad will be trimmed down to 15 players ahead of the Test match against New Zealand.

Afghanistan preliminary Test squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Abdul Malik, Rahmat Shah, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Ikram Alikhel (wk), Shahidullah Kamal, Gulbadin Naib, Afsar Zazai (wk), Azmatullah Omarzai, Ziaurrahman Akbar, Shamsurrahman, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Nijat Masoud, Farid Ahmad Malik, Naveed Zadran, Khalil Ahmad, Yama Arab.