Star Afghani All-rounder Rashid Khan who was on IPL duty with the Gujarat Titans has scrutinized his chances of featuring in the upcoming ODI series between Afghanistan and Sri-Lanka. The 24-year-old has sustained a Lower back injury and he will be reportedly sidelined for at least the first 2 ODIs.
Rashid Khan played a crucial role for the Gujarat Titans during the recently concluded IPL edition. He was among the top performers of the team and for the past 2 seasons, he has been a core member of GT. But 3 days since the Final at Narendra Modi Stadium, the leg-spinner has been made unavailable for International duty.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
Low Back Injury rules Rashid Khan out of the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan’s Bowling Ace @rashidkhan_19 has sustained a low back injury which forces him out of the first two games against @OfficialSLC.
Get well soon Champ! 🤲 pic.twitter.com/2SrAR06Amt
— Afghanistan Cricket Board (@ACBofficials) May 31, 2023
The Afghanistan Cricket Board took to Twitter on Wednesday night to confirm Rashid’s absence from the first two ODIs. “Low Back Injury rules Rashid Khan out of the first two ODIs against Sri Lanka. Afghanistan’s Bowling Ace @rashidkhan_19 has sustained a low back injury which forces him out of the first two games against @OfficialSLC. Get well soon Champ!” – the ACB wrote.
The 3-match ODI series between the 2 Asians is slated to begin from tomorrow. The 2nd and 3rd ODI will take place on June 4 and June 7 respectively with all the matches scheduled to get underway at the Mahenda Rajapaksha Cricket stadium in Hambantota.
After its conclusion, Afghanistan will head out for a tour to Bangladesh. On 14th June they will be playing a one-off Test match before involving in a 3-match ODI and 2-match T20I series.
Afghanistan will miss services of Rashid Khan who had his best IPL season
The 2-time IPL winner with Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans experienced his most productive IPL season in 2023. Not just with ball but with the bat too, Rashid Khan has only impressed. He was just 2 wickets behind Mohammad Shami from winning the IPL Purple Cap as he took 27 wickets in 17 outings.
Most Wickets Taken in IPL 2023 🏆
Wkt Player
28 Mohammed Shami (GT)*
27 Mohit Sharma (GT)
27 Rashid Khan (GT)
22 Piyush Chawla (MI)
21 Yuzi Chahal (RR)
21 Tushar Deshpande (CSK)
20 Varun Chakravarthy (KKR)
20 Ravindra Jadeja (CSK)#IPL2O23 | #GT pic.twitter.com/nlkB79b2Cq— MK Verma 🇮🇳 (@_mkverma) May 31, 2023
With the Bat, Rashid Khan never reached triple figures until this season. He scored 130 runs this year including a Fifty. His return date has not been mentioned yet but he will be back in time as Afghanistan will prepare for the ICC Cricket World cup 2023 from October.
