Back injury forces delay in Rashid's Test return

IMAGE: Rashid Khan in action for Afghanistan. Photograph: BCCI

Afghanistan cricket's poster boy Rashid Khan will not play the Test format in the near future to nurse his back after having undergone a surgery last year.

A source in the Afghanistan Cricket Board told PTI that Rashid and the team management had decided mutually on his break from the longest format considering his back issues.

Earlier this week, he was not named in the preliminary squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida from September 9.

Rashid was out of action for four months after undergoing a back surgery following the ODI World Cup in India in October-November. He was part of the more recent T20 Word Cup in the USA and Caribbean where he captained Afghanistan to the semifinals.

The 25-year-old recently played three games in as many days in the Shpageeza T20 league in Kabul, taking six wickets in total.

"The plan for Rashid after the surgery was to gradually increase his workload. Not playing the longer format for the next six months to one year was also part of the plan.

"In Tests, he would be required to keep bowling from one end and his back is not ready for that kind of workload. He should be available for the ODI series against South Africa next month," the source said.
Rashid has played five Tests, 103 ODIs and 93 T20Is for Afghanistan, who hardly get to play the five-day game against top teams like New Zealand.

He had also suffered a hamstring injury during The Hundred in the UK earlier this month.

The Afghanistan squad is already in Greater Noida, its adopted home venue, and have begun preparation for the Test against New Zealand.

Rashid should be able to play the three ODIs against South Africa in the UAE from September 18, the first ever bilateral series between the two nations.