Bennett leads Zimbabwe in Sharjah as Ngarava's back injury rules him out of the Afghanistan Tests

Zimbabwe have handed the Test captaincy to 22-year-old Brian Bennett for the two-match series against Afghanistan in Sharjah after a back injury ruled Richard Ngarava out

Zimbabwe Cricket named a 17-man squad for the series, which begins at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 5 November and concludes with a second Test at the same ground from 13 November.

Brian Bennett, the side's Test vice-captain, takes charge because Richard Ngarava is still recovering from a back injury. Fast bowler Tanaka Chivanga has also been ruled out of the series.

The squad keeps most of the group that beat Bangladesh by an innings and 85 runs at Harare Sports Club in June, Zimbabwe's biggest Test victory, and adds a leg-spinner who has not played the format for almost nine years.

A vice-captain promoted early

Bennett has been Zimbabwe's Test vice-captain since December 2025, when Ngarava was appointed Test and ODI captain in succession to Craig Ervine.

Announcing that change, Zimbabwe Cricket chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani said of the then 22-year-old deputy, "He represents the future of Zimbabwean cricket."

Ngarava is a fast bowler, so his absence costs Zimbabwe a frontline seamer as well as a captain, and Chivanga's injury thins the attack further.

Ervine is in the squad for Sharjah, as is Brendan Taylor. Both stayed on in the United Arab Emirates after the ODI tri-series to prepare for the red-ball leg of the tour.

A hundred against the same opponents

Bennett made his Test debut against Ireland in July 2024 and reached three figures in only his second match, against Afghanistan at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo that December.

He finished 110 not out from 124 balls, coming in at number seven, in an innings of 586 that remains Zimbabwe's highest Test total. Afghanistan replied with 699 and the match was drawn.

He will now lead the side against the same opposition, in conditions a long way from the ones he scored that hundred in.

Cremer recalled after nearly nine years

Leg-spinner Graeme Cremer is back in a Test squad for the first time since December 2017. Vincent Masekesa and Kundai Matigimu also return, and uncapped fast bowler Ernest Masuku is included.

The 17 are Bennett, Antum Naqvi, Ben Curran, Blessing Muzarabani, Brad Evans, Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine, Graeme Cremer, Innocent Kaia, Ernest Masuku, Kundai Matigimu, Newman Nyamhuri, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Tafadzwa Tsiga, Vincent Masekesa, Wellington Masakadza and Wessly Madhevere.

The Tests close a long tour of the UAE that also took in the ODI tri-series with Afghanistan and Bangladesh and three Twenty20 internationals against the hosts.

Naqvi cleared to play

All-rounder Antum Naqvi has been named after meeting the ICC's eligibility criteria, clearing the way for a long-delayed debut.

Naqvi was born in Brussels to Pakistani parents and moved to Australia at the age of four. He has been playing his cricket in Zimbabwe since 2023.

Zimbabwe's innings win over Bangladesh in June came at home in Harare. This series is on neutral ground, at the end of several weeks of white-ball cricket in the UAE.

Afghanistan without Rashid Khan

Rahmat Shah, appointed Afghanistan's Test and ODI captain earlier this year, leads the home side in a squad named on 1 October. Rashid Khan and opener Ibrahim Zadran are absent again.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board said the pair "continue to be rested from test cricket as per medical assessments", and that both have been advised not to play Tests at this stage.

Announcing the squads, ACB chief executive Naseeb Khan said "Test cricket is of immense importance to us", with the board scheduling a one-off Test against Bangladesh alongside the Zimbabwe series.

The first Test starts at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on 5 November, with the second at the same venue from 13 November.

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