Rashid Khan to Miss Afghanistan's First-Ever Test Match Against Sri Lanka

Talisman leg-spinner Rashid Khan is slated to miss Afghanistan’s first-ever Test against Sri Lanka next month as he continues to recover from back surgery.

The 25-year-old is Afghanistan’s highest Test wicket-taker — with 34 in five matches — and has been an integral part of the team in all formats of the game.

Selectors stated that Rashid is being cautiously monitored, and in the meantime, another leg-spinning bowling all-rounder, Qais Ahmad, has been included in the squad as his replacement.

“Rashid Khan continues to recover from the back surgery and is set to miss the one-off Test against Sri Lanka,” the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said in a statement.

In more news for fans, spinner Noor Ali Zadran, pacer Naveed Zadran and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Ishaq have all received call-ups for the squad, with the latter two earning their maiden call-ups for the senior team.

“Noor Ali Zadran has been selected based on his recent promising performances in domestic competitions.

“Naveed Zadran, a right-arm quick, and Mohammad Ishaq, a wicket-keeper batter, have earned maiden call-ups to the Senior Test Team. Both have put on some impressive performances during last year’s Ahmad Shah Abdali First Class and the recently held Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional List A Tournament, as well as during AfghanAbdalyan’s Tour of Oman in October last year,” read the statement issued by ACB.

Afghanistan, currently led by skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi for the one-off Test, will also play three one-day internationals and as many Twenty20s on the tour, for which squads will be announced later.

Since being granted Test status in 2018, Afghanistan has played seven Tests, winning three and losing the other four.

The one-off Test match against Sri Lanka will be played in Colombo from February 2-6.

Their face-off against Sri Lanka will be Afghanistan’s 8th overall test match and its first against Sri Lanka. The one-off test match is slated to be followed by 6 more test matches this year for the Afghans, including a two-test home series against Bangladesh and a one-off home test against New Zealand.

“The year 2024 is packed with Test cricket for us, a sign of progression,” said ACB chairman Mirwais Ashraf.

Afghanistan Squad for the one-off test against Sri Lanka: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Ikram Alikhail (WK), Mohammad Ishaq (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Noor Ali Zadran, Abdul Malik, Baheer Shah, Nasir Jamal, Qais Ahmad, Zahir Khan, Zia Ur Rehman Akbar, Yamin Ahmadzai, Nijat Masoud, Mohammad Saleem Safi and Naveed Zadran.

(with inputs from agencies)