Rashid Khan returns to Afghanistan's squad for ODI series against South Africa

Rashid Khan. Pic/AFP

Afghanistan star spinner Rashid Khan is all set to return to the 50-over format after the conclusion of the ODI World Cup 2023 in India.

Rashid Khan has been named in Afghanistan's 17-member squad ahead of their ODI series against South Africa which will kick start on September 18 in Dubai.

Rashid Khan did not feature in Afghanistan's one-off Test match against New Zealand in Greater Noida. After the ODI World Cup, he underwent back surgery. The spinner missed out on Afghanistan's series against UAE, India and Sri Lanka, and ODIs against Ireland.

The side will miss the services of spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman who is still recovering from his finger injury. Alongside Mujeeb, star batsman Ibrahim Zadran sustaining an ankle spain has been ruled out of the series.

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Afghanistan have called on talented top-order batter Abdul Malik to fill Zardan's shoes.

Darwish Rasooli is also in contention to make his ODI debut for Afghanistan after being named in the squad. The 24-year-old batter has seven T20I caps to his name so far. He has put on consistent performances in the recently held List A Cup and the SCL9.

"Mujeeb Ur Rahman continues to recover from his injury and is unavailable for selection. Ibrahim Zadran will also miss the South Africa ODIs for twisting his ankle on the edge of the New Zealand Test. However, we have included some of the top-performing youngsters, Abdul Malik and Darwish Rasooli. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar is also a talented cricketer and has demonstrated excellent skills recently and will cover for Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the series," Chief Selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil said, as quoted from a statement by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).

All the matches between teams will be played in Sharjah and this will be the first time that Afghanistan and South Africa will clash for an ODI bilateral series. Earlier, the teams met only in the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups.

Afghanistan Squad for the three-match ODI series against South Africa: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik.

(With ANI Inputs)