Afghanistan have suffered a huge blow ahead of their upcoming three-match T20I series against India. They will be without their captain and star spinner Rashid Khan for the historic series.
He has not played a competitive game since the World Cup clash against South Africa on November 10 due to a back injury. Rashid Khan had to pull out of the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) due to the injury. He was set to ply his trade for Adelaide Strikers in the competition. He had to undergo surgery for the back injury.
He also missed Afghanistan’s three-match T20I series against the UAE. Earlier this month, MI Cape Town also confirmed that the leg-spinner has been ruled out of the second season of the SA20 in order to recover from the back surgery.
Rashid Khan out of India series:
Last week, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named him in the squad for the series against India even though he was highly doubtful to play. And on Wednesday (January 11), Ibrahim Zadran confirmed that Rashid Khan won’t play in the three-match series. In the spinner’s absence, Zadran will lead the team.
Although missing Rashid will be a huge blow for Afghanistan, the visitors have a strong spin attack. With the likes of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Nabi, Qais Ahmad and Noor Ahmad in their ranks, Afghanistan have a got a very potent spin attack.
The upcoming series is a historic one as it marks the first multi-game bilateral series between India and Afghanistan. The only other bilateral series between them took place in 2018 when India welcomed Afghanistan for aone-off Test.
The IND vs AFG T20I series is scheduled to get underway on January 11 in Mohali. The second and third games are scheduled in Indore and Bengaluru on January 14 and 17 respectively.
Afghanistan squad:
Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib
