Ravichandran Ashwin Urges Afghanistan To Show Batting Resilience In One-Off Test vs New Zealand

The seasoned Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin is excited about the special Test match that Afghanistan and New Zealand will play. He maintained that because Afghanistan has depended so much on Rahmat Shah and Ibrahim Zadran, their batting lineup has to be more reliable.

In the one-off Test, there are three uncapped players in Afghanistan’s 16-man team; spinner Khalil Ahmed, opening batsman Riaz Hassan and all-rounder Shamsurrahman. On September 9th, Afghanistan will play New Zealand at Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground for their first-ever test match.

Hashmatullah Shahidi will take over as the captain of the Afghan side because Rashid Khan is still recovering from a back injury. Pacer Naveed Zadran will not be partaking in this test due to a side strain.

“This one-off Test will be fun to watch”- Ravichandran Ashwin

This one off Test will be fun to watch.

We know Afghanistan produce insane talent but the one area of solidity and stability they need is from their batting department.

They have Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat shah oozing class but not much else to follow, and that is why I am… pic.twitter.com/e6REqHdMsI

— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) September 7, 2024

Ravichandran Ashwin, India’s spinner, is excited about the one-off Test between Afghanistan and New Zealand. He urged Afghanistan’s batting to show more strength, comparing the early exploits of Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif to Afghanistan‘s Riaz Hassan and Bahir Shah. Ashwin hopes that Afghan youngsters can replicate the success of Yuvraj and Kaif in the early 2000s, contributing to India’s success in cricket.

“This one-off Test will be fun to watch. We know Afghanistan produce insane talent but the one area of solidity and stability they need is from their batting department. They have Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmat Shah oozing class but not much else to follow, and that is why I am excited to see what RIAZ HASSAN and BAHIR SHAH have to offer.” Ravichandran Ashwin tweeted.

“Both of them are promising and their first class averages are in excess of 55. The first signs of India’s strong future came via @YUVSTRONG12 and @MohammadKaif in the 2000’s as they came through the U-19’s, that is why these 2 players could give us a sneak peek into what Afghanistan may go on to accomplish in the next decade or so,” Ashwin tweeted on X.