Afghanistan vs Zimbabwe 1st Test: Zimbabwe bat in Sharjah as Antum Naqvi debuts

Zimbabwe chose to bat in the first Test against Afghanistan in Sharjah on Thursday, 5 November 2026, and were 79 for 1 after 22 overs in the opening session. Innocent Kaia made 34 off 51 balls before he was caught by debutant Rahmanullah off leg-spinner Qais Ahmad with the score on 60. Ben Curran and Brendan Taylor were batting at the time of writing.

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Antum Naqvi, Pakistan heritage, makes his Test debut

Zimbabwe handed a Test debut to Antum Naqvi, 27, a batter of Pakistani heritage who was born in Belgium and has also lived in Australia, ESPNcricinfo reported. Naqvi averages 60.35 in first-class cricket and was the first player to score a triple century for any team in Zimbabwe, making 300 not out for Mid-West Rhinos against Tuskers in 2024. He bats at six.

Cremer back after nine years

Leg-spinner Graeme Cremer, 40, plays his first Test since December 2017. Afghanistan gave a debut to middle-order batter Rahmanullah.

The toss

Bennett, leading Zimbabwe while regular captain Richard Ngarava recovers from a back problem, said he had no hesitation in batting: "The wicket might tear up later on in the Test match, so I think the first session is going to be important for us." Afghanistan captain Rahmat Shah said he also wanted to bat but was happy to bowl first.

Playing XIs

Afghanistan: Sediqullah Atal, Abdul Malik, Shahidullah, Rahmat Shah (capt), Hashmatullah Shahidi, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Rahmanullah, Qais Ahmad, Zia-ur-Rehman, Ziaur Rahman, Mohammad Saleem.

Zimbabwe: Ben Curran, Innocent Kaia, Brian Bennett (capt), Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine, Antum Naqvi, Wessly Madhevere, Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), Graeme Cremer, Newman Nyamhuri, Blessing Muzarabani.

Form

Afghanistan come in on a run of wins over Zimbabwe in white-ball cricket in the UAE: they took the T20I series 3-0, with Noor Ahmad taking 5 for 13 in the last match in Sharjah, and won the tri-series final by seven wickets.

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