Zimbabwe Cricket Announces Squad for One-off Test vs Afghanistan 2025
On Friday, Zimbabwe Cricket announced a 16-player squad for their one-off Test against Afghanistan, including Antum Naqvi, a batting all-rounder born in Belgium. Naqvi recently became eligible to play for Zimbabwe and is considered one of the most promising batsmen in the country, with an average of over 60 in both first-class and List A cricket.
The 26-year-old made history in January last year by becoming the first Zimbabwean batter to score a triple-century at any level of representative cricket. So far, he has scored 1,626 runs in 19 first-class matches with an impressive average of 67.75 and a strike rate of 72.65. In his latest first-class game for Zimbabwe ‘A’ against MCC in Harare last week, he scored 68 and 108 helping his team secure a draw.
Apart from Naqvi, fast bowler Tinotenda Maposa, who has played 14 white-ball internationals for Zimbabwe, could also make his Test debut. The squad also saw the exclusion of Sean Williams, Trevor Gwandu, Newman Nyamhuri, Clive Madande and Vincent Masekesa.
Middle-order batter Craig Ervine will captain the Zimbabwe team, which also includes experienced players like Brendan Taylor, Sikandar Raza and Blessing Muzarabani. The only match will take place at Harare Sports Club from October 20 to 24. This will be Zimbabwe’s first international game since they qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan Tour of Zimbabwe 2025 Schedule
Match Type | Match Number | Date | Venue | Start Time (Local) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Test | 1st Test | October 20-24 | Harare Sports Club, Harare | 8:00 AM |
T20I | 1st T20I | October 29 | Harare Sports Club, Harare | 11:30 AM |
T20I | 2nd T20I | October 31 | Harare Sports Club, Harare | 11:30 AM |
T20I | 3rd T20I | November 2 | Harare Sports Club, Harare | 11:30 AM |
Zimbabwe Squad For one-off Test:
Craig Ervine (C), Brian Bennett, Tanaka Chivanga, Ben Curran, Brad Evans, Roy Kaia, Tanunurwa Makoni, Wellington Masakadza, Tinotenda Maposa, Blessing Muzarabani, Antum Naqvi, Richard Ngarava, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Brendan Taylor, Nick Welch.
