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Back injury rules Rashid Khan out of Afghanistan's preliminary Test squad to face New Zealand

A back injury has left Rashid Khan out of Afghanistan's preliminary 20-member squad to face New Zealand in a one-off Test in India from September 9. According to the team management, he suffered the injury while playing for Speen Ghar Tigers (SGT) in the Shpageeza Cricket League (SCL), which is Afghanistan's domestic T20 tournament, last month. He last played Test cricket in March 2021.

 

All three of Rashid's matches at the SCL came on successive days from August 18, where he took six wickets at an average of 9.33 and an economy rate of 5.09. In his third game, Rashid also smashed 53 off just 26 balls out of his side's total of 112 in a truncated match against Amo Sharks. It was during that game that he experienced pain in his back, which kept him out of SGT's next match two days later as well.

 

Rashid had also gone through a back injury and subsequent surgery just after the ODI World Cup in October-November last year. That had ruled him out of all cricket for four months, before he returned to action in a T20I series against Ireland this March. And a week before his recent back trouble, Rashid suffered a hamstring strain while representing Trent Rockets at the Hundred. He missed their last two games of the season.

 

Afghanistan have begun training in Greater Noida, their adopted home ground in Uttar Pradesh, for the Test against New Zealand, which will be the first time that the two teams will be facing each other in the format. This will also be the first Test to be played at the Greater Noida Sports Complex Ground.

 

Immediately after the Test against New Zealand, Afghanistan fly to Sharjah to play a three-match ODI series against South Africa from September 18.

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