Rashid Khan, the captain of Afghanistan, will play his first competitive cricket match in three years against Ireland in the T20I series. Following back surgery in November of last year, the legspinner all-rounder has not been able to play since the 50-over World Cup.
Afghanistan is currently leading the three-match ODI series 1-0, while Ireland emerged victorious in the one-off Test match. Ireland prevailed in the first game, but the second game was rained out. After the series’ final ODI on March 12, Afghanistan will play three Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) against Ireland in Sharjah on March 15, 17, and 18.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board released a VDO interview with Rashid on Saturday, March 9. “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,” Rashid said.
Rashid acknowledged that the past three months had been difficult for him since his recuperation from the operation had proceeded more slowly than anticipated.
“I underwent surgery three months ago, which made them challenging. My back injury had been bothering me for the past seven or eight months, and the doctor had recommended surgery even before the World Cup. However, since the World Cup was so important to us, I chose to play and have the surgery afterward. Thank God, I’m back on the pitch and feeling better now, and my goal is to help the country succeed and have joy once again.
It was extremely difficult because recovering from surgery and having to pay attention to everything is difficult. You also have to take care of your rehabilitation and training because it is a gradual process that requires you to start walking before moving on to gym workouts.
“They are (tough) because it is more than just a surgery as it is returning to the pitch and being the same person you were when you left and it was a difficult period,” he stated.
Making the most of the opportunity and getting ready for the forthcoming T20 World Cup is the main emphasis. We have played enough cricket against Ireland, so we expect to do well. “The focus is always playing excellent cricket and achieving well.
After these three games against Ireland, “we don’t have more games to play. The focus will be to learn more from these games and the players can work hard during the last two to three months before the World Cup,” he said, adding that the Indian Premier League would also help them get ready for the international competition. “The next two months are very crucial for us,” he said.
“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,” he said.
