Afghanistan will miss their ace spinner, Rashid Khan, in the upcoming one-off Test between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The leg-spinner’s injury woes have been tormenting him for the last few months, having been out of action since the ODI World Cup 2023.
Rashid had undergone back surgery in November and had planned to return in January this year. But his comeback trail took a hit. He has since missed the Big Bash League (BBL), the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and the IND vs AFG T20I series and will now miss out on the SL vs AFG one-off Test as well.
In Rashid Khan’s absence, another leggie, Qais Ahmad, will play his second Test match. Qais made his Test debut in 2019 and will now return to the Test arena after 5 years.
Afghanistan has also named four uncapped players in their 16-man squad. These players are Noor Ali Zadran (batsman), Zia-ur-Rehman (spinner), Mohammad Ishaq (wicketkeeper), and Naveed Zadran (pacer).
Afghanistan squad for SL vs AFG one-off Test
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Noor Ali Zadran, Rahmat Shah (vc), Bahir Shah, Nasir Jamal, Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Qais Ahmad, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Yamin Ahmadzai, Nijat Masood, Mohammad Saleem and Naveed Zadran.