Zahir Khan, Sayed Shirzad added to Afghanistan Test squad

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Left-arm spinner Zahir passed the fitness test to be included in the Test squad. © Getty

The uncapped duo of Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzad have been added to Afghanistan’s Test squad for their one-off match against Ireland, set to be played in Dehradun from March 15.

Zahir, a slow left-armer, was not selected in the original squad as the selectors were waiting on their fitness report. However, he has now received a clean chit.

“Both Zahir Khan and Sayed Shirzad have very good bowling records in first-class cricket and have played in the ICC Intercontinental Cup for Afghanistan,” Dawlat Ahmadzai, Afghanistan’s chief selector, said. “We were awaiting Zahir’s fitness report when announcing the initial 14-member Test squad and now that he is fully fit, we have decided to add him to the squad.”

While both the players made their ODI debuts in the recently-concluded series against Ireland, left-arm pacer Shirzad had made his international debut against Oman in November 2015

“Sayed Shirzad is added as an additional pacer in the squad to have another bowling option if needed,” Ahmadzai added.