Afghanistan’s captain, Rashid Khan, is poised to make his return to competitive cricket during the upcoming three-match T20I series against Ireland.
The leg-spinning all-rounder has been sidelined due to a back surgery since the 50-over World Cup in November of the previous year.
In recent cricket encounters, Ireland emerged victorious in a one-off Test match, while Afghanistan leads the ongoing three-match ODI series 1-0.
The first game was clinched by Ireland, whereas the second match was abandoned due to adverse weather conditions.
After the conclusion of the last ODI in the series on March 12, Afghanistan is scheduled to face Ireland in three T20Is, set for March 15, 17, and 18 in Sharjah.
In a video interview released by the Afghanistan Cricket Board on Saturday (March 9), Rashid Khan expressed his eagerness to represent his country in the upcoming T20 series, stating, “The plan is to represent the country in the upcoming series (T20 against Afghanistan) and the training has been underway and today was the second day and thankfully it went well and I hope that the following few days will also be well so that I can wear the national jersey again and continue to do well for my country.”
Reflecting on his challenging journey back to fitness, Rashid admitted, “The last three months were difficult because I had surgery… It was indeed very tough because undergoing surgery and then going through the recovery process is not easy because you need to focus on everything and you need to take care of your rehab and your training as it is a very slow process because you will gradually start walking first and then the gym workouts so those are very tough days.”
With a keen eye on the forthcoming T20 World Cup, Rashid emphasized the significance of the upcoming matches against Ireland in their preparation.
He stated, “The focus is always playing good cricket and doing well and we have played enough against Ireland and we hope to do well and perform well because it’s a great preparation for the upcoming T20 World Cup and so the focus is on making the most out of it and preparing well for that event.”
Looking ahead, Rashid highlighted the importance of utilizing the next two months effectively, particularly for players participating in the IPL, as it would serve as valuable preparation for the global event.
He concluded, “The good thing is most of our players will be playing IPL and it will be good preparation for the World Cup and we will also keep in touch with those who are not there (in the IPL) to continue working hard in this period.”
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