Three uncapped players -- opener Riaz Hassan, all-rounder Shamsurrahman and pacer Khalil Ahmed -- have been included in Afghanistan's final 16-member squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand.
Spinners from New Zealand frequently face a challenging environment at home to showcase their skills as pitches and conditions there offer more assistance to seamers.
New Zealand will later face Sri Lanka and India in the subcontinent this year.
The Afghanistan cricket team is all set to play a one-off Test against New Zealand from September 9-13 in Greater Noida.
Afghanistan cricket's poster boy Rashid Khan will not play the Test format in the near future to nurse his back after having undergone a surgery last year.
The Spain cricket team has registered a massive world record to its name. En route for the huge feat, the side surpassed India and Afghanistan.
Rashid Khan is a notable omission in Afghanistan's 20-member preliminary squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand
After the match, Rashid signed autographs at the edge of the stands, with fans injuring themselves on barbed wire along the barriers as they scrambled to reach the star.
New Zealand included promising seamers Will O'Rourke and Ben Sears on Monday in their Test squad to face Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
This will be the first time that Afghanistan will play a Test match against New Zealand.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has got a big boost in its bid to successfully host the ICC Champions Trophy early next year after Afghanistan has assured its participation in the tournament.
Nabi, who has been regarded as one of the strong pillars of the Afghanistan cricket team since making his debut in 2009, acknowledged the fact of getting old and highlighted his commitment to staying fit by sticking to a clean diet.
Australia had replaced Starc with left-arm spin all-rounder Ashton Agar for the crucial game against Afghanistan, which they went on to lose.
This comes after Michael Vaughan had accused the organisers for favouring India, questioning the scheduling of the tournament.
Cricket Australia postponed a men's T20I series against Afghanistan, scheduled for August this year, citing the deterioration of human rights for women and girls in the country.
17 women cricketers from Afghanistan living in self-imposed exile in Australia have written to the ICC to help set up a team, which was disbanded after the Taliban takeover in 2021.
The curtains on arguably the most exhilarating of all T20 World Cups were drawn with India's magnificent triumph over South Africa in a pulsating final.
T20 World Cup 2024 Prize Money: India's agonising 11-year wait for a global title was brought to an end on Saturday with the T20 World Cup win.