Afghanistan’s standout leg-spinner, Rashid Khan, will be absent from the upcoming three-match T20I series against India, confirmed by captain Ibrahim Zadran during the pre-series press conference in Mohali on January 10.
Rashid, dealing with a persistent lower-back injury, underwent surgery in November 2023, leading to his exclusion from international matches against the UAE and the Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia.
Additionally, his team, Mumbai Indians Cape, competing in the SAT20 tournament from January 10 to February 11, expects him to miss the entire season, having appointed Kieron Pollard as the captain.
“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,” Zadran said, as quoted by Sportstar.
“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,” he added.
Information from Mohali suggests that despite participating in Afghanistan’s net sessions on Tuesday, Rashid Khan refrained from batting and avoided engaging in any vigorous training activities.
“Afghanistan is expected to do well in the series against India” Ibrahim Zadran
Even with Rashid Khan not playing, Zadran expressed confidence for the series against India, the world’s number one T20I team.
“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,” the Afghanistan skipper said.
The opening match is scheduled to start at 7:00 pm IST on Thursday.
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