Only 12 Tests in eight years: Afghanistan captain makes plea for more games ahead of India clash

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi on Thursday called for more Test opportunities for his team, saying the side does not play enough matches in the longest format despite having gained experience since receiving Test status.

Speaking ahead of Afghanistan's one-off Test against India in New Chandigarh, starting on Saturday, Shahidi said the team needs a more comprehensive Test schedule to continue its development.




"We have more experience now. But we need to play more Tests. We play only one or two Tests matches per year," Shahidi said in the pre-match press conference.

Afghanistan were granted Test status in 2018 but have played only 12 Tests in the eight years since. Their next appearance in the format will be against India this week.

Afghanistan's last Test came in October 2025 against Zimbabwe in Harare, where they lost by an innings and 73 runs.

Shahidi pointed out that players get more red-ball cricket at the domestic level and hopes the national team will receive more opportunities in the future.

"But in domestic cricket we play six and seven matches. Hopefully will have more Tests matches in the future," Shahidi added.

The Afghanistan skipper also said there is strong interest in red-ball cricket among players in the country, despite many of them featuring in T20 leagues around the world.

"We have talents in Afghanistan are very keen to play red-ball. Yes our players play in the global leagues but our domestic cricket is growing," Shahidi said.

Talking about Afghanistan's preparations for the India Test, Shahidi said the team had spent three weeks training in Jalalabad.

"We were in jalalabaad, we had a camp for three weeks. The weather was hot there as well. We are ready."


Afghanistan Squad for one-off Test: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Abdul Malik, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rahmanullah Zadran, Afsar Zazai (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafudin Ashraf, Nangyal Kharotai, Qais Ahmad, Bilal Sami, Zia Sharifi, Saleem Safi.

Reserve Pool: Bashir Ahmad, Bahir Shah, Ismat Alam