Due to a chronic lower back ailment, Afghanistan’s standout leg-spinner Rashid Khan will not play in the next three-match Twenty20 International series against India. Captain Ibrahim Zadran made this announcement at the pre-series news conference in Mohali.
Rashid had surgery in November of 2023. After that, he was declared ineligible for an international series in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL) against the United Arab Emirates. His SA20 2024 squad, MI Cape Town, have already picked Kieron Pollard to be their captain. They are prepared to miss him for the duration of the season. The SA20 2024 will take place from January 10 to February 11.
As quoted by Sportstar, the Afghanistan skipper said, “He is not totally fit, but is traveling with the team. We hope that he gets fit as soon as we expect him to. He’s doing his rehab with the doctor, and we will miss him in the series,”
Ibrahim Zadran added, “Without Rashid, there are a few players that we have trust in. I can say, they will play good cricket. Others have also played a lot of cricket and I am sure they will perform well. Without Rashid, we will struggle because his experience is crucial to all of us, but this is cricket and you need to be ready for any kind of situation.”
“We will have a good series against India” : Ibrahim Zadran
Although Rashid bowled just a few times during Afghanistan’s Tuesday net sessions. These are what the reports from Mohali suggest and it added that he did not bat as well. Zadran seems upbeat about the series versus India. According to him they have the best T20I team in the world, even with Rashid out of the picture.
The Afghanistan interim skipper said, “Playing against India on their home soil is a difficult task, but we came here to play well against them and show our skills. We have lots of good T20 players, all our boys are playing good cricket, so I am sure they will play well. We will have a good series against India.”
