Rashid Khan takes indefinite break from Test cricket

Afghanistan’s champion spinner Rashid Khan will not be available for Test cricket to recover from his back problems after undergoing surgery last year. Rashid and the team management have agreed to drop him from the Test squad so that he can manage his problem.

He was not called up for the Test match against New Zealand in Greater Noida, which begins on September 9. Rashid did not play cricket for four months following his surgery after the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. He led Afghanistan in the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, where the subcontinent’s team reached the semi-finals.

The 25-year-old recently played three matches in the Shpageeza T20 league in Kabul, taking six wickets.

“It was decided to gradually increase his workload after the surgery. Not playing Test cricket for six months to a year was also one of the options. In red-ball cricket, he would have to bowl from one end and his back is not ready to take that kind of pressure. He would play in the ODI series against South Africa,” the source said.

Rashid has played five Test matches, 103 One-Day Internationals and 93 T20Is for Afghanistan. He injured his hamstring during The Hundred in the UK. The Afghanistan team is already training in Greater Noida.

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