Afghanistan's Naveed Zadran out for one-off test against New Zealand

Afghan seamer Naveed Zadran has been ruled out of the one-off Test against New Zealand due to a side strain. Afghanistan will take on the Kiwis in a one-off Test starting September 9 in Greater Noida, India. It will be the first Test between the two sides in Afghanistan's short history in the longest format.

However, ahead of the series, they were without the services of young seamer Zadran, who has been ordered to rest for 3-4 weeks. The management is hoping that he will recover before the South African ODI series in the UAE. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is yet to name a replacement for the 19-year-old teenager.

Afghanistan will also have to do without the services of its captain Rashid Khan for the match, having been advised by his doctors not to take part in the longest format for a year following his back surgery last year. Notably, the provisional 20-man squad is currently undergoing preparatory training for the series and the board will announce a 15-man squad at the end of training after assessing the fitness and performance of the players.

In the meantime, The New Zealand team has also arrived in the city before the game and was warmly welcomed.

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

New Zealand squad for the one-off test against Afghanistan: Tim Southee (C), Tom Blundell (WK), Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham (VC), Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Kane Williamson, Will Young