Zimbabwe make three changes and ask Afghanistan to bat

Toss Zimbabwe chose to bowl vs Afghanistan

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine won the toss and chose to bowl in their one-off Test against Afghanistan in Harare on Monday, pointing to the green surface, which he expects to help the seamers early on, for his decision.

Zimbabwe made three changes from the last Test they had played - in Bulawayo against New Zealand in August - with Ben Curran, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans coming in for Sean Williams, Trevor Gwandu and Vincent Masekesa.

Brendon Taylor, who opened for Zimbabwe in their last Test assignment, is set to bat at No. 4, with Curran back at the top of the order.

Afghanistan, meanwhile, handed debuts to seamer Ziaur Rahman, spin-bowling allrounder Sharafuddin Ashraf, and legspinner Khalil Gurbaz.

Ibrahim Zadran is back at the top of the order and will partner Abdul Malik, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz set to slot into the middle order.

Zimbabwe: Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Bahir Shah, Afsar Zazai (wk), Ismat Alam, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Khalil Gurbaz, Yamin Ahmadzai, Ziaur Rahman

Afghanistan: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Nick Welch, Brendan Taylor, Craig Ervine (capt), Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga (wk), Brad Evans, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tanaka Chivanga