Afghanistan are gearing up for their 10th Test and first against New Zealand. The historic encounter will be hosted by the Asian side even though the match will be played in India from September 9 in Greater Noida. The venue will become the second cricket stadium in India to host the inaugural Test match without the Indian cricket team participating in the match.
The Hashmatullah Shahidi-led team has a quality line-up but will surely miss the services of star all-rounder Rashid Khan, who has been ruled out due to injury. As Indian pitches usually favor spinners more, Afghanistan will hope to have an effective outing against the Black Caps.
Here are top 3 Afghanistan players who are likely to perform well against New Zealand
3. Ibrahim Zadran
Afghanistan opener Ibrahim Zadran has scored 541 runs in his seven Test matches, including four half-centuries and an incredible century. He has an excellent batting average of 38.64, which is an indication that he can thrive well in the longer format of the game. Notably, Zadran had a remarkable campaign in Afghanistan’s successful T20 World Cup 2024.
2. Rahmat Shah
Rahmat Shah is one of the few players to have played all nine Test matches for Afghanistan so far. The right-hander has accumulated 578 runs across 18 innings at a healthy average of 32.11. He has five half-centuries and one hundred to his credit in this format. Shah will have to play a key role in the middle or to tackle the Kiwi spin attack.
1. Zahir Khan
Zahir Khan is currently one of the best spinners in the Afghanistan team, but he will have a difficult job to do in the absence of Rashid Khan. The left-arm wrist spinner has taken 11 matches in five Test matches so far. His economy rate stands at 4.72 and the best bowling figure is 3/59.