MOHALI: Newly-appointed Afghanistan captain Ibrahim Zadran on Wednesday confirmed that his team’s star spinner Rashid Khan will sit out of the three-match T20I series.
Rashid has travelled to India with the team but is still in “recovery mode” after a lower-back surgery he underwent just after the ODI World Cup.
“He (Rashid) is travelling with the team but is not fully fit,” Zadran said.
“We will miss him for the entire series. Rashid is a key player and we hope he gets fit as soon as possible. Currently, he is undergoing rehab under our team doctor’s watch.”
Besides Rashid, Afghanistan have four other frontline spinners in the squad — mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, chinaman bowler Noor Ahmad, leg-spinner Qais Ahmad, left-arm orthodox Sharafuddin Ashraf and veteran off-spinner Mohammad Nabi.
Zadran is expecting the other spinners to deliver in Rashid’s absence.
“We have enough firepower (in the spin department). The other spinners have played enough and have handled difficult situations. (Mohammad) Nabi is the senior-most in our team,” he said.
Hindol Basu is a Principal Correspondent with the The Times of In...
Read MoreHindol Basu is a Principal Correspondent with the The Times of India. Over the years, as a sports journalist, Hindol has covered important events like the 2012 London Olympics, 2008 Beijing Olympics, 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Hindol has had a diverse profile having worked in all forms of media - TV, Radio, New Media and Print. Besides, being an avid blogger, Hindol plays the guitar, writes poetry and is interested in photography.
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