Rashid Khan, who recently missed the Hundred due to a back injury, will be eligible for the forthcoming three-match ODI series against Pakistan, starting on August 22 in Sri Lanka.
Both Pakistan and Afghanistan will be looking to fine-tune their game in the three-match series leading up to the Asia Cup.
After playing in the Major Cricket League and then being sidelined for the one-match Test series against Bangladesh because of a back complaint, Rashid chose to sit out the Hundred in order to rest his back.
There were rumblings about his participation in the forthcoming series against Pakistan, but ACB head selector Asadullah Khan shot down those rumors.
Because he needed to rest up for the Pakistan game, Rashid didn’t play in the Hundred for these matches. Asadullah recently informed Cricbuzz that Hundred’s consistent cricket playing forced them to rest him for the Pakistan series.
“We had a preparation camp in Kabul, and the next camp will be in Hambantota from August 10 and he (Rashid) will join the camp in Hambantota,” he added.
Asadullah expressed optimism that the team’s performance against Pakistan will boost their confidence in front of the Asia Cup and World Cup.
“If we can win the game that will be very good for the morale of our players going into the Asia Cup,” Asadullah stated. This is the first step on our road to the World Cup. We have picked too many players in the past to let the team gel and learn their duties, but the current roster, which includes those who will compete in the Asia Cup, is satisfactory.
We’re putting a lot of faith in our fast bowlers and spinners. We expect the out-of-form guys to bounce back in the Asia Cup and the Pakistan series, and we have high hopes for the batting unit as a whole. The good news is that everyone is in top physical shape, has a positive outlook on their performance, and is working extremely hard.
Having beaten Bangladesh in a set of one-day internationals has boosted both our batting and bowling. After the victory in Bangladesh, he said, “I am sure our coach Jonathon and his staff are working very hard to correct some of the mistakes that we made in Bangladesh.”