Naqvi debuts, Cremer returns as Zimbabwe bat in opening Test

Brian Bennett, the Zimbabwe captain, won the toss and had no hesitation in batting in the first Test against Afghanistan in Sharjah.

Graeme Cremer makes his return to the Test fold after nearly nine years since last playing a Test match in December 2017. Antum Naqvi also makes his long-awaited debut. The Belgium-born Naqvi is of Pakistan heritage and has also lived in Australia. He is a highly-rated player who has a batting average of 60.35 and was the first player to score a triple-century for any team in Zimbabwe, when he made 300* for the Mid-West Rhinos against the Tuskers in 2024.

"The wicket might tear up later on in the Test match, so I think the first session is going to be important for us, but I think if we can get through that, we'll put on a decent total," Bennett, who is captaining Zimbabwe in the absence of regular skipper Richard Ngarava, who continues to recover from a back problem, said.

The Afghanistan captain, Rahmat Shah, said that he wanted to bat as well, but has no issues with bowling first, while confirming a debut to middle-order batter Rahmanullah.

"We also wanted to bat first but are now ready for bowling," he said at the toss. "We are in good form and want to keep continuing. We will just try to bowl in one channel and according to the field. We want to show the consistency level."

Afghanistan: 1 Sediqullah Atal, 2 Abdul Malik, 3 Shahidullah, 4 Rahmat Shah (capt), 5 Hashmatullah Shahidi, 6 Ikram Alikhil (wk), 7 Rahmanullah, 8 Qais Ahmad, 9 Zia-ur-Rehman, 10 Ziaur Rahman, 11 Mohammad Saleem

Zimbabwe: 1 Ben Curran, 2 Innocent Kaia, 3 Brian Bennett (capt), 4 Brendan Taylor, 5 Craig Ervine, 6 Antum Naqvi, 7 Wessly Madhevere, 8 Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), 9 Graeme Cremer, 10 Newman Nyamhuri, 11 Blessing Muzarabani