Karim Janat and Nijat Masood Drafted in by Afghanistan for West Indies Test

After a good performance in the T20Is against West Indies, Karim Janat has been handed a maiden Test call-up along with 20-year-old Nijat Masood, for the one-off Test beginning Wednesday, 27 November in Lucknow.

Janat, an all-rounder, picked six wickets in two games and smashed an 18-ball 26 with the bat. In the second game he finished with figures of 5/11, helping 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.



He will be part of the Afghanistan’s squad for the Test against West Indies in Lucknow, 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.

Playing their fourth Test, Afghanistan will be without the retired Mohammad Nabi. 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.

In an earlier home Test in March, Afghanistan had beaten Ireland by seven wickets, 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.