Mujeeb Ur Rahman left out of squad for Ireland Test

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Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been left out of Afghanistan’s Test squad for their forthcoming assignment against Ireland in Dehradun. The 17-year-old spinner played the country’s inaugural Test match against India last June and conceded 75 runs for a solitary wicket in the 15 overs he bowled.

The selectors have added three new players to the 14-man squad who were not with the squad in Bengaluru – left-arm fast bowler Waqar Salamkheil, batsman Ikram Ali Khil and all-rounder Sharafuddin Ashraf. Ali Khil is also part of the ODI squad.

Ireland announce squads for Afghanistan series

Salamkheil and Ali Khil are yet to play an international game while Sharafuddin has been involved with the national set-up, having represented Afghanistan in 14 ODIs and six T20Is.

Curiously, flamboyant opening batsman Mohammad Shahzad has been left out of the squad for the T20Is, although he features in the Test and the ODIs. In keeping with their trend to blood new spinners, Afghanistan have called up 17-year-old left-arm wrist spinner Zahir Khan for the ODIs and the T20Is while left-arm orthodox spinner Zia-Ur-Rehman makes it to the T20I squad.

Afghanistan v Ireland series moved forward

Afghanistan and Ireland will play three T20Is, five ODIs and the one-off Test starting February 21. The Test match will be the second game for both teams having made their long-format debuts in 2018, against India and Pakistan respectively.

Squads

T20I: Asghar Afghan (c), Usman Ghani, Najeeb Tarakai, Hazratullah Zazai, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Shafiqullah Shafaq, Rashid Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Farid Malik, Sayed Shirzad, Zia-Ur-Rehman, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Zahir Khan, Sharafuddin Ashraf

ODI: Asghar Afghan (C), Mohammad Shahzad, Noor Ali Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Samiullah Shinwari, Mohammad Nabi, Najibullah Zadran, Ikram Ali Khil, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Aftab Alam, Dawlat, Zahir Khan, Farid Malik, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Shapoor Zadran, Sayed Shirzad

Test: Asghar Afghan (C), Mohammad Shahzad, Ihsan Janat, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Nasir Jamal, Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ikram Ali Khil, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Wafadar Momand, Yamin Ahmadzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Waqar Salamkheil