Karim Janat, Nijat Masood earn maiden Test call-up

Janat had produced an all-round show: first contributing with an 18-ball 26 with the bat and following it up with a match winning 5/11 with the ball, in the second T20I, which helped Afghanistan win their first game of the season. He finished with returns of 1/33 in the following game as the Rashid Khan led side sealed the series with a 29-run win.

The 21-year old will now feature in Afghanistan's Test squad, alongside young fast-bowler Nijat Masood, who is yet to make an international appearance. The 15-member squad also features left-arm spinner Amir Hamza Hotak and batsman Nasir Jamal, both of whom have represented Afghanistan in white-ball cricket earlier. Hotak makes an international comeback after almost two years while Jamal's last appearance came during the ODI series against Zimbabwe in March last year.

Afghanistan will play their fourth Test without Mohammad Nabi, after the all-rounder had announced his retirement from the longest version after his team's historic 223-run win against Bangladesh in September. Veteran left-arm pacer Shapoor Zadran and batsman Hashmatullah Shahidi are the other notable absentees from the squad, with left arm pacer Sayed Shirzad too missing out.

This will be Afghanistan's second home Test, after they had beaten Ireland by seven wickets at the same venue in March this year, to register their first win of the format.

**Full squad:**Rashid Khan (captain), Asghar Afghan, Ihsanullah Janat, Ibrahim Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Rahmat Shah, Karim Janat, Qais Ahmed, Ikram Alikhiel (wicketkeeper), Afsar Zazai, Nasir Jamal, Zahir Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Hamza Hotak, Nijat Masood.