Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan is all set to make his return to Test cricket during the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. The development was confirmed by Afghanistan Cricket Board’s Chief Executive Naseeb Khan on Tuesday, October 29, right after the announcement of the tour was made.
Rashid last played a Test back in March 2021 against Zimbabwe and has been more focused on white-ball cricket ever since. After a back injury sidelined him from longer-format cricket on his doctor’s advice, Rashid missed the Test series against New Zealand. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) later confirmed that he would be absent from Test cricket until November, with uncertainty around his inclusion in the squad for the Zimbabwe tour. Despite this, Rashid remained available for the white-ball formats, a scenario expected to continue for Zimbabwe.
Speaking to Cricbuzz, Naseeb Khan said that Afghanistan was confident that Rashid would play the Test series against Zimbabwe. The ACB chief executive said that the star spinner does look fine and ready to feature for the team in the longest format of the game.
“We are confident that Rashid will play for us in the Test series against Zimbabwe,” said Naseeb. “He (Rashid) had a long recovery due to his back surgery and we wanted him to recover fully before taking the load of playing Test cricket. Now he looks fine and ready to feature for us in Test cricket.”
Rashid has played just 5 Tests so far in his illustrious career and has good numbers for Afghanistan. During this time, the spinner has picked up 34 wickets at an average of 22.35 and has scored 106 runs, including one fifty.
The series in Zimbabwe will open with three T20Is, scheduled for December 9, 11, and 12 at Harare Sports Club. Following the T20Is, the teams will compete in a three-match ODI series on December 15, 17, and 19 at the same venue. The tour will conclude with a two-match Test series in Bulawayo, with the first Test set for December 26 to 30 and the second from January 2 to 6.
