Star Afghanistan spinner Rashid has been ruled out of the three-match T20I series against India, starting on January 11, skipper Ibrahim Zadran said.Rashid underwent a minor lower-back surgery in the UK on November 24 and has been out of action since then.
"He is not totally fit, but is travelling with the team. We hope that he gets fit as soon as we expect him to. We will miss him in the series,” Zadran said in pre-match press conference on Wednesday.
"Without Rashid, we will struggle because his experience is crucial to all of us, but this is cricket and you need to be ready for any kind of situation…" he added.
Earlier, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in its statement said that Rashid might not feature in any game against India as he recovers from the back surgery he underwent recently.The 25-year-old was with the Afghanistan team in their recent T20I series against the UAE as a reserve player.
The three-match T20I series is scheduled to be played from December 29, 2023, to January 2, 2024 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.It will be the first time India and Afghanistan will face each other in a bilateral men’s T20I series, with the matches scheduled on January 11, 14 and 17 in Mohali, Indore and Bengaluru, respectively.
Moreover, this will be India’s last international series before the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup takes place in the West Indies and the USA from June 1-29.