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Afghanistan’s right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Saleem has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi due to a groin (adductor) overload.As a result, Saleem will report to the ACB’s High Performance Center for rehabilitation, a release by the Afghanistan Cricket Board said.In Saleem’s place, right-arm medium-pace bowler Bilal Sami will be joining Afghanistan’s squad for the ODIs against Bangladesh.Twenty-three-year-old Saleem has played two ODIs so far, with both of those matches coming against Bangladesh in July 2023. He last played for Afghanistan in his solitary Test, which was against Sri Lanka in Colombo in February 2024.Saleem’s replacement Sami, meanwhile, has played for Afghanistan only once, which was on ODI debut against Zimbabwe in December 2024. Sami, 21, has played 25 List A games, where he has 44 wickets at an average of 25.72. He represented Afghanistan Under-19 at the World Cup in 2022, where he got four wickets in five matches.Sami was recently in action at the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament, Afghanistan’s domestic List A competition, which ended in September. There, he was his team Speen Ghar Region’s second-highest wicket-taker with ten wickets at an average of 22.90, and an economy rate of 4.97.Afghanistan’s first ODI against Bangladesh will take place on Wednesday, October 8.

Suryakumar Yadav, India’s T20I captain, has been told to refrain from making comments that could be construed as political following an ICC hearing conducted by match referee Richie Richardson on Thursday in Dubai. It’s not yet clear if Suryakumar faces any other sanctions.An official hearing was necessary because the Pakistan team management had filed a complaint alleging that Suryakumar made political remarks following India’s Asia Cup group-stage win over Pakistan on September 14, which the PCB’s top brass had pointed out at a press conference in Lahore last week.Related

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ESPNcricinfo understands Suryakumar’s use of the term “Operation Sindoor” – a term coined by the Indian government during the military skirmish between the two countries that followed the Pahalgam terror attacks in April – was one of the PCB’s points of objection.Suryakumar had used the term at the post-match press conference following that September 14 match, while dedicating the win to the victims of the terror attacks as well as India’s armed forces.That match also caused another controversy, with Pakistan lodging a “formal protest” against match referee Andy Pycroft because he had “requested the captains not to shake hands during the toss”. At the time, the PCB had demanded Pycroft to be taken off the roster for their matches, which the ICC rejected.That incident threatened to snowball into something bigger when Pakistan didn’t arrive on time for their match against UAE. They eventually relented after Pycroft apologised for the “miscommunication” over the handshake incident.Meanwhile, India’s complaint to the ICC over gestures made by Sahibzada Farhan and Haris Rauf during their Super Fours clash will be heard on Friday since Pakistan were involved in a match on Thursday evening against Bangladesh.The gestures were made on the field during a tense game where the two sets of players exchanged words multiple times.At a press conference ahead of Pakistan’s match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday, Farhan had been asked about his machine-gun celebration after reaching his half-century against India. “That celebration was just a moment at that time,” he had said. “I do not do a lot of celebrations after scoring fifty. But, it suddenly came to my mind that let’s do a celebration today. I did that. I don’t know how people will take it. I don’t care about that.”

Legspinner Lloyd Pope will not get the chance to play in the Sheffield Shield final as South Australia look set to opt for an extra seamer in the hope of breaking a 29-year title-winning drought against Queensland.Captain Nathan McSweeney confirmed on Tuesday that Pope will be squeezed out of the XI against Queensland. Pope has taken 21 wickets at 25.95 in five Shield appearances this season, including match-winning bags of 6 for 74 against Victoria and 4 for 76 against Tasmania, but both of those came at Adelaide Oval.He took 3 for 84 from 26 overs last week against Queensland at Karen Rolton Oval, where the final will be played. But both sides are expecting more moisture and grass in the surface and South Australia are likely to welcome back seamer Brendan Doggett and seam-bowling allrounder Liam Scott into the line-up after both were rested last week, meaning Pope is one of the men to miss out.Related

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“Lloyd’s been great for us this year and his efforts are a great reason why we’re here and playing in a Shield final,” McSweeney said. “I think Karen Rolton Oval is typically a tough ground to bowl spin on. The wicket has a little bit more moisture in it. So hence we’re going with an extra [seam] bowler. It’s a tough decision, but I think when you’re in finals you’ve got to make tough decisions. And unfortunately he’s the one that’s missing out.”Wicketkeeper Harry Nielsen is the other member of South Australia’s 14-man squad that will definitely not feature, having being left out for the last match due to Alex Carey’s return from international duty.

How a drawn final is decided

In the event the Sheffield Shield final ends in a draw, the title will be decided on first-innings bonus points which are accrued across the first 100 overs.

Batting teams earn 0.01 of a bonus point for every run scored over 200 in the initial 100 overs; bowling sides get 0.1 of a bonus point for every wicket in the first 100 overs. For example, the batting side scores 350 all out in 90 overs they earn 1.5 points and the bowling side 1 point.

Should bonus points be tied and the match drawn, SA will win the Shield given they finished top of the ladder and earned hosting rights for the final.

McSweeney would not confirm the final XI but it appears likely that one of Henry Thornton or Jordan Buckingham will be squeezed out to make room for Doggett.Thornton’s incredible late season form makes the selection decision extremely difficult. He was the Michael Bevan medallist as player of the match in the Dean Jones Trophy Final, taking 4 for 27, and has since bagged 4 for 42, 3 for 44, and 3 for 90 in the last two Shield games having been a late replacement for Nathan McAndrew when he was rested against Victoria.Buckingham, meanwhile, has taken 21 wickets at 25.76 this season and bowled well for Australia A this summer. Doggett has likewise starred for Australia A in between taking 22 scalps at 29.86 fin Shield cricket.Henry Thornton has produced strong late-season form•Getty Images

South Australia did not push for an outright win against Queensland last week to conserve energy ahead of the final. They had the Bulls 86 for 5 after piling up 614 for 7 declared but ended up needing 113.5 overs to bowl them out for 370 as the surface flattened out, with Jimmy Peirson and Jack Wildermuth posting lower-order centuries.”I think the wicket looks like there’ll be a little bit more life in it, slightly more in it for the bowlers,” McSweeney said. “But I think typically here it’s hard to take 20 wickets. There’s no doubt about that. We’ve got an extra day to try and take them now, so I think it’ll be a really good cricket wicket.”The weight of history sits heavily on the South Australian team despite it being made up of a lot of players from interstate. They have not won a Shield since 1996 and have not played in a final since 2017 or hosted one since 2016. Carey and Jake Lehmann will be the only two surviving members of the 2015-17 group to play in this week’s decider, while Conor McInerney is set to be the only other home grown South Australian in the XI.But despite the squad being made up of so many recruited players, McSweeney believes their journey together and their struggles over recent seasons in building a tight-knit team culture means a Shield triumph would mean as much to them as it would to the rusted on SACA members who have been starved of success for so long.”A lot of the boys have come from interstate,” McSweeney said. “We’ve been giving opportunity for a team that hasn’t had heaps of success, but we’ve been able to build it over the last few years as a group, and that’ll just cap it off I think.”We’ve had a fair bit of change, but I think the core group of players have been here for a long time now, and we’re slowly starting to see the success from all the hard work, and that’s paying off now. It’ll mean so much and hopefully we can get it done.”South Australia squad: Nathan McSweeney (capt), Jordan Buckingham, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Henry Hunt, Jake Lehmann, Ben Manenti, Nathan McAndrew, Conor McInerney, Harry Nielsen, Lloyd Pope, Jason Sangha, Liam Scott, Henry Thornton

Urvil Patel, who had smashed the second-fastest T20 century in November last year, carried his fine form into the red-ball format to hit a maiden first-class hundred in Gujarat’s innings-and-98-run victory over Saurashtra in their Ranji Trophy quarter-final match in Rajkot. Gujarat will play the winner of the ongoing fixture between Kerala and Jammu & Kashmir in the semi-final.Urvil top-scored with 140 in Gujarat’s massive total of 511 in the first innings, which gave them a 295-run lead over Saurashtra, who managed only 216 after being sent in. Urvil was supported by Jaymeet Patel (103) and Manan Hingrajia (83) as they wore out a competent Saurashtra attack by batting out 159.1 overs.But Saurashtra were in the game at one stage when Gujarat were reduced to 78 for 3 early on the second day. Then Hingrajia and Jaymeet put together a 144-run stand to set the foundation for a mammoth score.Saurashtra began the fourth day trailing by 262 runs with all ten wickets in hand but were bowled out in under two sessions. Left-arm seamer Arzan Nagwaswalla picked up three wickets for Gujarat, while seamer Priyajitsing Jadeja got four – including the big strike of Pujara. Ravi Bishnoi, who had linked up with the squad following his return from national duty, picked up two crucial wickets in the second innings.Saurashtra eventually made just 197 in the second innings, with Harvik Desai top-scoring with 54. Cheteshwar Pujara finished a modest season with scores of 26 and 2. Barring the 234 against Chhattisgarh in the second game and 99 against Assam last week, Pujara’s highest score in the eight other innings was the 26 he made in the first innings against Gujarat.Saurashtra’s exit marked the end of a decorated career of their batter Sheldon Jackson, one of their stalwarts. He finishes his first-class career with 7283 runs in 174 innings at an average of 45.80. Jackson hit 21 hundreds and 39 half-centuries in all, with the high point being the Ranji Trophy win in 2019-20.

Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s Test coach, has hit back at criticism of his team reaching the World Test Championship (WTC) final after a cycle in which they faced neither Australia nor England, and played only 12 Tests. They were the first team to book a spot at Lord’s after they reeled off six successive wins and qualified with a game to spare.”I’m never going to apologise for getting into the final,” Conrad told ESPNcricinfo at Newlands, ahead of the second Test against Pakistan. “It’s the biggest thing in this team’s existence. It’s the biggest thing for South African cricket at the moment. It’s the biggest thing for Test cricket, for world cricket, where the right noises are going to start being made.”Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Fox Cricket said South Africa got to the final “on the back of beating pretty much nobody” and that they don’t “warrant being in the World Test Championship final with whom they have played over the last two years”, while former Australia spinner Kerry O’Keeffe called South Africa’s run “like making the Wimbledon final without playing a seed on the way”.Related

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For Conrad, that is both incorrect and an insult to the opposition South Africa faced. “One of the nobodies we beat won a Test match in Australia – West Indies beat Australia in a Test match,” Conrad said. “They are not nobody. New Zealand beat India: three-zip in India. New Zealand is not a nobody. Sri Lanka won Test matches [against England and New Zealand]. I don’t buy this thing about us beating nobody. You tell any side to go and win six on the bounce, in places you haven’t won in a decade and with a young side, with a decimated bowling attack and when you do that, you come back and tell me that we’ve beaten nobody.”Because of South Africa’s paucity of fixtures – and because they sent an understrength side that lost 2-0 to New Zealand last February – every Test since their tour to the West Indies in August was almost a must-win. South Africa won that series 1-0. Then, they went to Bangladesh where captain Temba Bavuma could not play after an elbow injury, which resulted in them fielding the eighth and 11th least capped teams in the cycle, but they won their first series in the subcontinent in a decade.The home summer has been marred by bowling injuries with seven frontline quicks out of action – two (Wiaan Mulder and Gerald Coetzee) mid-Test – and South Africa have had to dig deeply into their reserves. Still, they came up with teams that beat Sri Lanka 2-0 and have now taken the lead against Pakistan.Michael Vaughan has questioned South Africa’s qualification for the WTC final•Justin Tallis/AFP/Getty Images

While Conrad is proud of that, he understands his team is not the finished product and has repeatedly pointed out areas of improvement. He also acknowledged that “the format is not ideal” because not only do all the teams in the WTC not play against each other in a cycle but teams also don’t play the same number of matches. Each team plays six series in a WTC cycle – three home, three away – which means there are at least two teams on the points table they will not play.The number of matches in each series is also agreed on by the individual boards. While India, Australia and England scheduled five-Test series against each other, Cricket South Africa chose only two-match series for this cycle as a cost- and time-saving measure and Conrad hopes that will change.”Hopefully, the ICC is going to take control, whoever is going to take control, make it more even or more fair. But I’m not going to sit here and apologise.”The uneven number of fixtures is also why the WTC table is based on percentage points rather than actual points. As things stand, South Africa have won seven of 11 Tests in the cycle and have a winning percentage of 66.67%. Even if they lose the New Year’s Test to Pakistan, their percentage of 61.11 will be enough to see them finish in the top two. Conrad believes this is as fair a way of ranking the teams as there can be.”What do I say to the people who are jumping up and down? Look, with the little bit of math I did, percentages are probably the ideal way of working it out. Let’s assume we play 12 [Tests] now and we win six, then we end up with 50%. Because some other teams play 20 Tests, is it okay for them to lose ten and be the same? You still have to win more than you lose and get your percentages up, irrespective of who you play against.”Vaughan also concluded that South Africa “decided Test match cricket wasn’t quite as important” when they took a second-string team to New Zealand and insisted their frontline players fulfilled contractual obligations to the SA20. At the time, Steve Waugh wondered if South Africa’s actions would be a “defining moment in the death of Test cricket”, but Conrad viewed it pragmatically.”The SA20 has to happen because it is the lifeblood of South African cricket,” he said last January. “If it doesn’t happen, we are not going to have Test cricket anyway. We’ve got to find a way to coexist with the league, we’ve got to co-exist with leagues around the world to ensure the sustainability of the game.”The third season of the SA20 will begin on January 9; the tournament has turned a profit for the last two years. CSA, as majority shareholders, has been paid dividends in the tens of millions of Rands and that is only expected to grow.This year the scheduling of the SA20 means that South Africa will not have their strongest side available to them for an ODI tri-series in Pakistan ahead of the Champions Trophy. CSA has promised there will not be any further clashes with the SA20 and bilateral cricket, which includes England’s inbound tour in the 2026-27 season.That Test series will form part of the 2025-2027 cycle of the WTC, in which South Africa will play both England and Australia (also at home) in three-Test series each, after travelling to Pakistan and India later this year.

India will be without head coach Gautam Gambhir when they take on the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra in a two-day tour game starting on November 30. Gambhir has left the team to be in India for personal reasons. A BCCI source confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that Gambhir will be back with the team before the next Test, which will be a day-night match in Adelaide starting on December 6. The tour game in Canberra will be a day-night match played with the pink Kookaburra ball.India lead the series 1-0 after they made a stunning comeback from being whitewashed 3-0 at home by New Zealand. Assistant coaches Abhishek Nayar, Ryan ten Doeschate and Morne Morkel will collectively be in charge in Gambhir’s absence.Related

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Just as Gambhir left, India were bolstered by the return of the full-time captain, Rohit Sharma, who had been on paternity leave during the first Test. Rohit’s return into the XI could lead to a tricky question around the combination as in his absence, KL Rahul made a successful return to the top of the order in difficult conditions.If Shubman Gill, who missed the Perth Test with a fractured thumb, also makes it back to full fitness, India will have to free up two places in the batting line-up. There is no update yet on Gill’s recovery as there is time to go to the next match. He will likely miss the tour game with assessments becoming more regular as the training days and the Adelaide Test approach.

Sam Konstas missed an opportunity to strengthen his Test case while Steven Smith made a duck as Victoria closed in on victory over New South Wales despite a superb six-wicket haul from Mitchell Starc.Konstas made 43, after being given a life when on 23, while Smith was given out lbw not offering a shot to Scott Boland as the Blues slumped to 185 for 6 chasing 383. An unbeaten half-century from Josh Philippe has ensured the game will reach the fourth day, but the Blues need 198 runs to win with just four wickets in hand.Earlier, critical half-centuries from Sam Harper and Tom Rogers helped Victoria set the Blues a large fourth-innings chase in the face of some outstanding bowling from Starc, who finished with 6 for 81 from 17.5 overs and looks in superb shape ahead of the Test series against India.”I nearly got to 40 overs, which was probably more than the people off the field would have liked,” Starc said post-play.”Wickets aside, the rhythm was there and it felt the best I’ve felt in a while. Across the two innings it feels like it’s in a good spot at the front end of the summer.”The Blues chase got off to a horror start as they lost 4 for 35. Boland was back to his unerring best with the new ball. He had Nic Maddinson caught at slip off a no-ball before nicking him off again with a brilliant legal delivery from around the wicket that angled in and seamed away.He then trapped Smith lbw with a delivery that nipped back sharply from wide of off. Smith shouldered arms not expecting so much movement. Umpire Sam Nogajski thought it was hitting the stumps. It was a brave decision but, despite Smith’s clear displeasure, replays suggested it was highly likely to be hitting the stumps.Steven Smith was trapped lbw by Scott Boland for a duck•Getty Images

“I thought it was out,” Boland said after play. “It only has to hit the stumps when you don’t use your bat like that.”Boland was pleased to get through another 11 overs in his return from injury.”Body feels really good,” Boland said. “Happy with how the knee and foot are feeling.”Just general soreness from being back bowling. As much as you try to in the nets, you can’t replicate what you get out in the middle. And I haven’t played again for six months and I can feel it a little bit. But I just think if I get through this week, I’ll be ready to go.”Moises Henriques was trapped lbw by Fergus O’Neill before Ollie Davies fell nicking a loose drive off Will Sutherland.Konstas held firm in the face of some excellent seam bowling. But he battled for fluency despite looking sound in defence. The moment he tried to expand he nearly came unstuck. On 23, he drove firmly at a Boland delivery that wasn’t as full as it appeared. A thick edge flew to Peter Handscomb’s right at second slip, but he could not reel it in at full stretch despite getting two hands to it.The drop appeared to free Konstas up. He began to accumulate, moving to 43 alongside Philippe, who continued the form he showed in his unbeaten 45 in the first innings.But having done the hard yards against the quicks, Konstas was undone but the offspin of Todd Murphy. He had mauled South Australia’s Ben Manenti in his twin centuries in the opening game of the season, but the Test offspinner was a different challenge. Konstas punched him neatly off the back foot for four through cover-point and wanted to go back-to-back skipping out early to the next delivery predicting it might be fuller. Murphy outsmarted him. Konstas was nowhere near the good length as he tried to mow it over long-on and the top edge skewed to backward point where Campbell Kellaway held the tricky chance.The Blues were 97 for 5 before Philippe and Sean Abbott steadied the innings. The two shared a 59-run stand before Abbott edged Sutherland to first slip.Philippe reached a half-century for the second time this season and looks in good touch heading into his Australia A appearance in a few weeks.Earlier in the day, Harper and Rogers produced an excellent 130-run partnership to put Victoria in a strong position before late hitting from O’Neill and Murphy pushed the game seemingly beyond the Blues reach. Harper made 72 and looked in complete control before holing out to wide fine leg when a predictable plan had been set for him.Rogers made 59, his maiden first-class half-century, and looked very assured before he lost a battle with Nathan Lyon. Australia’s No. 1 Test spinner went over the wicket to the left-hand batter for a period of time to dry him up. He fell trying to work against the spin and was caught at short leg.Starc and Abbott threatened to blow the tail away but O’Neill and Murphy made 33 and 36 respectively with some lusty hitting and some good fortune. Starc finally castled both of them to finish with six wickets.

Australia vs South Africa

Dubai, 6pm local timeAustralia squad: Alyssa Healy (capt & wk), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia Wareham, Heather Graham, Tayla Vlaeminck (ruled out)South Africa squad: Laura Wolvaardt (capt), Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Annerie Dercksen, Mieke de Ridder, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta (wk), Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Sune Luus, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Seshnie Naidu, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloe TryonTournament form guide: Australia are unbeaten in this T20 World Cup, winning all four of their games so far. In their last group match, they beat India in a high-octane clash by nine runs. South Africa have a 3-1 record having lost their second match of the tournament to England.News brief: Australia were without captain Alyssa Healy for their match against India. She arrived at the game in Sharjah on crutches having sustained a foot injury while batting on 37 against Pakistan on Friday. Tahlia McGrath led the side in her absence, with Ellyse Perry deputising and Beth Mooney keeping wicket.”As it stands, it’s the same thing for Midgie [Healy],” Perry said on the eve of the semi-final. “The medical staff and the team are going to give her every opportunity and possibility of playing tomorrow night but I don’t think anything’s changed in that respect. We’ll just have to see in the next 24 hours.”Alyssa Healy watched Australia’s win against India from the sidelines•ICC/Getty Images

Fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck, who hurt her shoulder on her T20 World Cup return against Pakistan, was ruled out of the tournament with Heather Graham named her replacement. Grace Harris and Darcie Brown came into the playing XI as replacements for the India game.South Africa do not have injury concerns and are unlikely to make changes to their winning combination. Their record against Australia is not great, having won just one out of the 10 T20Is they’ve played each other. Their first-ever win came in Canberra in January this year in a bilateral series. South Africa have not won a single World Cup game against Australia in either format. Thursday will be a rematch of the 2023 T20 World Cup final, in which South Africa suffered a heartbreaking loss in front of their home crowd in Cape Town.South Africa have played three matches in Dubai this tournament while Australia have played just one match – against Pakistan – at the venue. The average first-innings score is 126, with India posting the highest total of 172 against Sri Lanka last Wednesday.Player to watch: Experienced pacer Megan Schutt’s miserly spells have been crucial to all four of Australia’s wins. She started the tournament with 3 for 12 against Sri Lanka on a spin-friendly track, finished with stunning figures of 3 for 3 against New Zealand and followed it up with 1 for 7 in her three overs against Pakistan in Dubai. Against India, she gave away 24 runs in her first three overs but returned to turn the game on its head in the 17th over by conceding just one run, leaving India with 40 to get off 18 balls.Tazmin Brits’ solid starts have been among the biggest positives for South Africa. After a 57 not out to start the competition, she crossed the 40-run mark in each of her last two matches. Against Bangladesh, on a slow track, she played a patient innings of 42 off 41 balls to help South Africa to a comfortable win. She also played an important hand in South Africa’s first and only T20I win against Australia earlier this year, scoring a fiery 41 off 28 with eight fours in a chase of 143.

“I thought there was a run. Daryl [Mitchell] trusted my call. It was a pretty good throw. At the end of the day, run-outs in Test cricket are not exactly ideal. I take full accountability for it, and hopefully on another day I make a different decision.”Glenn Phillips isn’t the kind to mince words, especially when he’s the guy who did a team-mate wrong. Daryl Mitchell had been batting beautifully on 57 off 86 when that run out came. Mitchell couldn’t really have done much different, aside from maybe dive into the crease, and even then it may not have saved him.But then Phillips is one of cricket’s great hustlers – a wicketkeeper who can bowl ripping offspin on dry tracks, who is as box office as any infielder or outfielder in the game, and oh, also, one of cricket’s most reliable boundary-hitters. Not many cricketers do as much on so many fronts. You gotta respect the hustle.Related

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He took two wickets in the first innings with his offspin, which at times took huge turn. He has bowled 30 overs in this Test so far and, from the sound of it, has loved it.”I love my bowling much more than my batting. Being able to bowl spells of ten overs and then eight overs on the first day, and then a cheeky six today – I love it. Hopefully, there’s a few more poles [wickets] under the belt in the coming days.”New Zealand have a rest day immediately on their horizon, but have another Test in Galle next up, plus matches in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai to come. With Will O’Rourke and Tim Southee digging up some footmarks in Galle, perhaps there is potential for even spinners like Phillips to be effective, against left-handers especially.”[O’Rourke] has made some good footmarks on both sides of the pitch, if you manage to hit them there’s some good turn and bounce.”Phillips’ biggest contribution so far in this Test has been through his batting, however. He made 49 not out off 48 balls. Thirty of those runs came off sixes.”Batting with the tail is always a niche art. The fact that we managed to put 36 on for the final wicket is a boost going into the bowling period. We would have liked more, but a 34-run [35] lead is always valuable.”

Big picture: Back at it after a break

When New Zealand last played Afghanistan, during the T20 World Cup in June, they suffered a defeat so catastrophic it precipitated a rare group-stage exit from an ICC tournament. That match was in Providence, Guyana, on the other side of the planet from where the teams are now for their first meeting in Test cricket. The possibly spin-friendly conditions in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, however, could help bridge the gulf in experience between these Test sides.New Zealand are playing their first Test since March, and their first international since June, and a large part of their recent cricket narrative has been about players turning down contracts, or taking up casual contracts, as the choice between club and country gets harder. There is not as much at stake in this contest – the match is not part of the World Test Championship (WTC) – but New Zealand, having suffered their maiden defeat to Afghanistan this year, will want to start their run of six Tests in the subcontinent over the next two months with a victory. They are currently third in the WTC standings, but with two Tests in Sri Lanka and three in India coming up, their prospects of finishing in the top two are tough.Afghanistan do not play enough Test cricket to be part of the World Test Championship. Their maiden fixture against New Zealand is only their tenth Test since they were admitted to the club in 2017. And apart from two Tests against Zimbabwe in Abu Dhabi, they are yet to play a series longer than a one-off match. They are also cricket’s nomads, with no place to call home, and have played their first nine Tests at eight venues – Greater Noida will be their ninth. Afghanistan have lost their last three Tests, and an upset of New Zealand could strengthen their claim for more fixtures in the format.

Form guide

Afghanistan: LLLWL (last five Tests, most recent first)
New Zealand: LLWWWRelated

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In the spotlight: Ajaz, Williamson and Omarzai

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel has played only 16 Tests since his debut in 2018. With New Zealand calling on his skills primarily when they tour Asia, he could play six more Tests over the next two months if all goes well for him. The last time Ajaz, now 35, was in India in 2021, he emulated Jim Laker and Anil Kumble and became only the third bowler to take all ten wickets in a Test innings. With 26 wickets at an average of 23.73 in India and Sri Lanka, Ajaz will be expected to lead New Zealand’s spin attack against Afghanistan and beyond.Kane Williamson giving up the white-ball captaincy and opting out of a central contract in June was seismic for New Zealand, but he has since reaffirmed his commitment to his country. And in Test cricket, his form has been stupendous over the last two years. At the age of 34, however, this may be his last chance to repair his record in India. Williamson averages only 33.53 in eight Tests in India, and hasn’t hit a hundred since his century on Test debut in 2010.Seam-bowling allrounder Azmatullah Omarzai has become a regular for Afghanistan in the white-ball formats and could make his Test debut against New Zealand on Monday. He was impressive in India during the 2023 ODI World Cup and turned out for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2024. He has limited first-class experience – only five matches – but his ability to bat in the middle order and swing the ball could help Afghanistan with team balance.Kane Williamson’s recent Test form is superb but he doesn’t have a great record in the subcontinent•Getty Images

Team news: Ibrahim Zadran injured

Afghanistan are without their leading wicket-taker Rashid Khan, who has taken a break from Test cricket on medical advice. Ibrahim Zadran, their second-highest run-scorer in the format, has also been ruled out with an ankle sprain in his left leg – not only for this Test but also for the three-match ODI series against South Africa.*Their squad is also missing familiar T20 names, such as Rahamnullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Noor Ahmad. With most of their players coming off the franchise and domestic T20 circuit, the challenge will be to adapt to the five-day format quickly.Afghanistan (probable): 1 Abdul Malik, 2 Riaz Hassan, 3 Rahmat Shah, 4 Bahir Shah, 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), 6 Azmatullah Omarzai, 7 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 8 Zia-ur-Rehman, 9 Qais Ahmad/Khalil Ahmed, 10 Nijat Masood, 11 Zahir KhanThe question for New Zealand is the balance of their bowling attack for the conditions. If they choose to play only two specialist seamers, in addition to Daryl Mitchell’s all-round abilities, then it could be the captain Tim Southee and one of Matt Henry, Ben Sears and Will O’Rourke. Ajaz and Mitchell Santner are the specialist spin options, with Rachin Ravindra, and one of Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell as the part-time spin options.New Zealand (probable): 1 Tom Latham, 2 Devon Conway, 3 Kane Williamson, 4 Rachin Ravindra, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Tom Blundell (wk), 7 Glenn Phillips/Michael Bracewell, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Tim Southee (capt), 10 Matt Henry/Ben Sears/Will O’Rourke, 11 Ajaz Patel

Pitch and conditions: Rain expected

Greater Noida will become the 124th Test venue on Monday, though it has hosted a total of 11 ODIs and T20Is, all involving Afghanistan and Ireland. Afghanistan have also played two red-ball Intercontinental Cup matches here in 2016 and 2017.There’s been plenty of rain in Greater Noida in the lead-up to the Test, and New Zealand had to call off their practice on the eve of the match because of unfavourable ground conditions. More wet weather is expected over the week. The pitch is likely to be a black-soil surface that could assist spin more than pace, depending on the weather.

Stats and trivia

• New Zealand haven’t won a Test match in India since 1988. They have lost seven of their ten Tests here since 2010. Though this fixture is not against India, a strong performance against Afghanistan’s spinners could provide valuable experience for the tougher Tests ahead.
• Williamson averages 72.36 in 12 Tests since December 2022 and has scored a hundred in eight out of nine innings when he passed fifty.
• Southee has had a tough year in Test cricket, taking only two wickets against a weakened South Africa and just four against Australia at an average of 71.33 in eight innings at home in 2024. On his previous tour of India in 2021, he took eight wickets in the Kanpur Test before going wicketless in Mumbai.

Quotes

“It’s tough. Six Test matches in this part of the world, you’d think spin plays a majority of the part as a bowling unit. We’ve got four quality pace bowlers at our disposal as well. So it’s about which balance is right.”
“I think it’s tough to be missing players like Rashid Khan because he did very well in the past for us in the Test format. So we will miss him and some other players also. But at the same time, we have other talented guys. It’s an opportunity for them to make their names in the world of cricket and show their talent. Especially in Test cricket, I think if we do well then the whole world will talk about this [in a] very positive [way].”