Afghanistan pack their XI with spinners, ask New Zealand to field
Mitchell Santner is the only frontline spinner in the New Zealand XI, with part-timer Rachin Ravindra the other spin option
Deivarayan Muthu
Feb 8, 2026, 5:31 AM • 5 hrs ago
Toss Afghanistan opt to bat vs New Zealand
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan won the toss and opted to bat against New Zealand in a day game in Chennai at the T20 World Cup 2026. The 11am start and the fact that dew is a non-factor as a result may have influenced Afghanistan's decision at the toss.
Rashid was among Afghanistan's three spinners along with Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi. There was no room for left-arm wristspinner Noor Ahmad, who has enjoyed success at Chepauk with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the IPL.
Ziaur Rahman Sharifi, who replaced the injured Naveen-ul-Haq, and left-arm quick Fazalhaq Farooqi were picked as the two frontline seamers. They will be assisted by seam-bowling allrounders Azmatullah Omarzai and Gulbadin Naib.
New Zealand, on the other hand, had just one specialist spinner in captain Mitchell Santner. There was no space for wristspinner Ish Sodhi, with New Zealand going pace-heavy on a surface with some grass. Matt Henry will lead the seam attack which includes Lockie Ferguson and Jacob Duffy.
New Zealand's No. 3, Rachin Ravindra, who can also pitch in with left-arm fingerspin, has recovered sufficiently from an illness to return to the XI. Michael Bracewell, who is nursing a calf injury, though, missed the cut. Finn Allen, New Zealand's premier opener, recovered from a shoulder niggle, which had kept him out of the warm-up fixture against USA, to slot back in at the top along with Tim Seifert.
The Chepauk recently underwent a makeover with the entire outfield being dug up and relaid. Though the pitches were untouched - the venue has not hosted a competitive game since IPL 2025 in April - its conditions are an unknown quantity, with CSK also suggesting they have struggled to read the surfaces of late.
Afghanistan: 1 Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), 2 Ibrahim Zadran, 3 Sediqullah Atal, 4 Darwish Rasooli, 5 Azmatullah Omarzai, 6 Gulbadin Naib, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Rashid Khan (capt), 9 Fazalhaq Farooqi, 10 Mujeeb Ur Rahman, 11 Ziaur Rahman Sharifi
New Zealand: 1 Finn Allen, 2 Tim Seifert (wk), 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Glenn Phillips, 5 Mark Chapman, 6 Daryl Mitchell, 7 Mitchell Santner (capt), 8 Jimmy Neesham, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Lockie Ferguson, 11 Jacob Duffy
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo