India vs Afghanan: Rashid Khan ruled out from three-match T20I series | Cricket News

Afghanan will be without their premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan for the three-match T20 series against India, starting from Wednesday in Mohali. Rashid is yet to recover from a back surgery that had him miss Afghanan’s T20I series in the UAE. He was also ruled out from the Big Bash League (BBL).
“He is not totally fit, but he is travelling with us. He is doing his rehab, and we are hoping that he gets fit as soon as possible. We will miss him in this series,” Afghanan captain Ibrahim Zadran told the reporters.
However, Zadran is confident that they still have quality spinners in their ranks who can trouble the star-studded Indian batting line-up.
“Without Rashid, we will struggle as his experience is invaluable, but even in his absence, we have got quality spinners in Mujeeb (Ur Rahman), Nabi (Mohammad), Noor (Ahmad), and Qais (Ahmad). All of them have played a lot of cricket, and we have trust in them,” he said.
Batting a worry
Zadran admitted that they are not worried about the bowling, but it is the batting, where they are looking to be more aggressive.
“We have quality spinners and seamers, but we need to improve our batting skills; we will try to be more aggressive in that area,” he said.
Zadran’s strike rate in the 27 matches he has played is only 103.18. He generally plays the role of sheet anchor, with his opening partner Rahmanullah Gurbaz being the aggressor. The young Afghan skipper said his role in the team is to play through the innings.
“T20 is different from the ODIs and Test cricket. My role in the team is to play through the innings. I am doing the anchor role. Indeed, I am working to improve my strike rate, but it all depends upon the circumstances because you can’t always play the fancy shots,” he said.
Playing for the Afghan people
Afghanan has punched above their weight in the recently-concluded ODI World Cup. The Afghans defeated the former champions England, Pakan and Sri Lanka. The stunning campaign of players from a war-weary nation had captured the cricketing world’s attention, and gave immense joy to Afghan fans across the globe.
“We have played wonderful cricket in the World Cup. The Afghan people worldwide are expecting us to do well,” he said.
On post-World Cup scenes in Kabul, the skipper said: “I was there for only one day, but what I have heard from my teammates is that the people were really happy and were celebrating on the streets. Cricket is the only hope in our country, which gives happiness to our people. Every time we enter the field, we try to play for the happiness of our people,” he said.