IND vs AFG: In what comes as a huge blow to the Afghanistan Cricket Team, T20i skipper Rashid Khan is all set to miss the three-match T20i series against India. The 25-year-old underwent back surgery in November 2023, but he has not managed to return to full match fitness.
“He is not totally fit, but he will be traveling with us. He is undergoing his rehab, and we are hoping that he gets fully fit as soon as possible. We will miss him in this series against India,” stand-in captain Ibrahim Zadran said at the press conference on Wednesday (January 10).
“Without Rashid, we might struggle, as his experience is invaluable for us, but even in his absence, we have quality spinners in the form of Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, and Qais Ahmad. All of them have played a lot of cricket all around the world, and we have complete trust and faith in them and their abilities.”
Zadran also said that his team’s batting unit will need to improve if Afghanistan wants to have a chance of winning their first ever bilateral series against India. Indian Skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have made their comebacks in the Men in Blue’s squad for the Afghanistan series, and they will be looking to help the Indian team win the series against the Afghans.
“We have quality spinners and seamers on the team, but we need to improve batting-wise. We will try to be more aggressive in terms of our batting.,” Ibrahim Zadran said.
“We played some really good cricket in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The Afghan people worldwide are expecting us to do well,’’ Zadran added.
After the end of the first T20I in Mohali, India and Afghanistan will clash in the second T20I in Indore before the third and final T20I in Bengaluru.
Afghanistan’s Squad against India
Ibrahim Zadran (C), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), FazalHaq Farooqi, Rahmat Shah, Hazratullah Zazai, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Azmaullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fareed Ahmad, Naveen Ul Haq, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem, Qais Ahmad, Rashid Khan, and Gulbadin Naib.
India vs Afghanistan, T20I Series 2024
- January 11, 1st T20I, PCA Stadium, Mohali
- January 14, 2nd T20I, Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore
- January 17, 3rd T20I, M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru
Read: IND vs AFG 1st T20 Match Dream 11 Prediction, Best Teams, Pitch Report and Weather Forecast
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