Rashid Khan Returns to Afghanistan’s ODI Squad for Series Against South Africa
Rashid Khan, Afghanistan’s star legspinner, is set to return to the ODI format for the first time since last year’s ODI World Cup in India. Rashid has been named in Afghanistan’s 17-member squad for their upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, beginning on September 18 in the UAE.
Rashid was absent from Afghanistan’s squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida due to back surgery. He missed Afghanistan’s series against UAE, India, Sri Lanka, and ODIs against Ireland.
Afghanistan will also miss mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is recovering from a finger sprain, and top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran, who has an ankle sprain. Talented top-order batter Abdul Malik has been called to replace Zadran, and Darwish Rasooli is in contention to make his ODI debut.
Chief Selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil stated, “Mujeeb Ur Rahman continues to recover from his injury and is unavailable for selection. Ibrahim Zadran will also miss the South Africa ODIs for twisting his ankle on the edge of the New Zealand Test. However, we have included some of the top-performing youngsters, Abdul Malik and Darwish Rasooli. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar is also a talented cricketer and has demonstrated excellent skills recently and will cover for Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the series.”
All games of the three-match ODI series will be played in Sharjah. This will be the first time that Afghanistan and South Africa will face off in a bilateral ODI series. Previously, both teams met at the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups.
Afghanistan Squad for the three-match ODI series against South Africa:
| Hashmatullah Shahidi (C) | Rahmat Shah (VC) |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK) | Ikram Alikhil (WK) |
| Abdul Malik | Riaz Hassan |
| Darwish Rasooli | Azmatullah Omarzai |
| Mohammad Nabi | Gulbadin Naib |
| Rashid Khan | Nangyal Kharoti |
| Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar | Fazal Haq Farooqi |
| Bilal Sami | Naveed Zadran |
| Farid Ahmad Malik |
Doubts Revealed
Rashid Khan -: Rashid Khan is a famous cricketer from Afghanistan who is known for his excellent legspin bowling.
ODI -: ODI stands for One Day International, which is a type of cricket match that lasts for one day.
legspinner -: A legspinner is a type of bowler in cricket who spins the ball from the leg side to the off side of a right-handed batsman.
back surgery -: Back surgery is a medical operation done to fix problems in the spine or back.
squad -: A squad in sports is a group of players selected to play for a team in a series or tournament.
South Africa -: South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, and it has a national cricket team.
UAE -: UAE stands for the United Arab Emirates, a country in the Middle East where the cricket series will be played.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman -: Mujeeb Ur Rahman is another cricketer from Afghanistan who is known for his spin bowling.
Ibrahim Zadran -: Ibrahim Zadran is a young cricketer from Afghanistan who plays as a batsman.
Abdul Malik -: Abdul Malik is a newcomer in the Afghanistan cricket team, meaning he is a new player.
Darwish Rasooli -: Darwish Rasooli is another new player who has been included in the Afghanistan cricket team.
bilateral ODI series -: A bilateral ODI series is a series of One Day International cricket matches played between two countries.
