The face of Afghanistan cricket, Rashid Khan, will not be playing in Test matches anytime soon as he recovers from back surgery performed last year. According to a source with the Afghanistan Cricket Board, Rashid and the team management reached a mutual decision to take a sabbatical from the longest format because of his back problems. He was left out of the provisional team earlier this week for the September 9 one-off Test match against New Zealand in Greater Noida.
during having back surgery during the October–November ODI World Cup in India, Rashid was out for four months. In the more recent T20 World Cup in the United States and the Caribbean, he led Afghanistan to the semifinals as captain.
In the Shpageeza T20 league in Kabul, the 25-year-old recently participated in three matches in a row and claimed a total of six wickets. “After the operation, Rashid was supposed to gradually increase his workload. Another aspect of the idea was to not play the lengthier format for the following six months to a year.
“He would have to bowl continuously from one end during tests, and his back is not prepared for that type of strain. The insider stated, “He ought to be available for the ODI series against South Africa next month.”
Afghanistan seldom gets to play the five-day format against elite nations like New Zealand, but Rashid has played five Tests, 103 ODIs, and 93 T20Is for the country. Earlier this month, he had also had a hamstring injury while competing in The Hundred in the UK. The Afghanistan team has already started preparations for the Test match against New Zealand in Greater Noida, which it has chosen to call home. Against South Africa, Rashid should be eligible to play the first-ever bilateral series between the two countries in the United Arab Emirates starting on September 18.
