India vs Afghanistan: Rashid Khan included in Ibrahim Zadran-led Afghan squad despite recent surgery

Afghanistan on Saturday announced their squad for the T20I series against India that starts next week, including Rashid Khan in the side despite the fact that the star all-rounder is unlikely to play to due a recent surgery.

The Afghans have instead continued with opening batter Ibrahim Zadran, who had an outstanding run in the ICC World Cup that took place in October and November, as their captain. Zadran had recently led the Afghan Atalan to a 2-1 series victory over the UAE in an away series.

“Rashid Khan, Afghanistan’s regular T20I Captain, has been included in the squad but might not feature in any game as he recovers from the back surgery he recently underwent,” read a statement in a release shared by the Afghanistan Cricket Board on Saturday.

Rashid is unlikely to feature in the series and his slot in the team will likely to go senior off-spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman, who returns to the side after missing the T20Is against UAE. Additionally, Ikram Alikhil has been promoted to the main squad after travelling to the UAE as part of the reserves.

🚨 𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐀𝐃 𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐓! 🚨

AfghanAtalan Lineup revealed for the three-match T20I series against @BCCI. 🤩

More 👉: https://t.co/hMGh4OY0Pf | #AfghanAtalan | #INDvAFG pic.twitter.com/DqBGmpcIh4

— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) January 6, 2024

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The Afghans return to the nation where they pulled off what could be described as their greatest performance in a major tournament till date. Under Hashmatullah Shahidi’s leadership, the Afghans won four out of nine matches, beating defending champions England as well as former champions Pakistan and Sri Lanka along the way. They had nearly defeated eventual winners Australia in Mumbai as well until a once-in-a-lifetime knock from Glenn Maxwell shattered their hopes.

The upcoming series will be Afghanistan’s first bilateral limited-overs series against India. They had previously played a one-off Test against an Indian team led by Ajinkya Rahane in Bengaluru, which the hosts ended up winning comfortably by an innings and 262 runs.

“We are delighted to be embarking on our maiden tour to India for a three-match series. India is the top-ranked side in the world and it’s very pleasing to witness AfghanAtalan competing in a three-match T20I against them. We believe that AfghanAtalan are no longer underdogs & have excelled well in the recent past and we look forward to a highly competitive series against India,” ACB Chairman Mirwais Ashraf said in the release.

The IS Bindra PCA Stadium in Mohali will host the first match on Thursday, 11 January. The Holkar Stadium in Indore and Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium host the second and third matches on 14 and 17 January respectively.

The BCCI, meanwhile, is yet to announce India’s squad for the upcoming series, which regular T20I skipper Hardik Pandya is set to miss due to the ankle injury that he had suffered during the World Cup.

All eyes, however, will be on whether Test and ODI skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who had last represented the Men in Blue in the format in the 2022 T20 World Cup, get picked or not.

Afghanistan squad: Ibrahim Zadran (C), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Hazratullah Zazai, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Karim Janat, Azmaullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Gulbadin Naib and Rashid Khan.