Fit-again Rashid included for Bangladesh ODIs

Just a day after being battered heavily by 546 runs against Bangladesh, Afghanistan have received the best possible news, with the return of their iconic all-rounder, Rashid Khan. Rashid missed the one-off Test against Bangladesh after struggling to recover from a back injury he suffered during the Indian Premier League (IPL). 

Uncapped Zia Akbar, Izharulhaq Naveed, Wafadar Momand, Abdur Rahman and Saleem Shafi have made it to the squad, which also sees the return of Shahidullah Kamal and Sayeed Ahmad Shirzad. 

"Definitely (Rashid return is a big boost), he is back in. It's very good news that everybody is in and everybody is back regarding their fitness and regarding their role in the team and we are quite happy for that," ACB's chief selector Asadullah Khan told Cricbuzz on Sunday.

"Certainly we are looking at all our available options (ahead of Asia Cup and World Cup) but in the meantime we have a team and we have good bowlers in the team and in the meantime we are in a position of development as well for the future so that if something happen somebody can be able( to fill his spot) because in cricket anything can happen some injuries something you know,” Asad had to add. 

However, Noor Ahmad, who was a breakthrough star in Gujarat Titans’ run to their second IPL final in two years has been dropped from the setup. Asad insisted that the management wants to keep Noor’s talent to the shortest format, where he has showed relative success, rather than forcing him to play across formats. 

"Right now he (Noor) is very good in T20 and he should fill it. As I said everybody should be behind the player and Naveed Izhar( legspinner) will be in one-day and he will back Rashid and Mujeeb while in the T20 we should have somebody who have confidence. The format is totally changed and the mindset is totally changed and I don't want to mess it up," concluded Asad.

Afghanistan squad for Bangladesh ODIs: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Rashid Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Shahidullah, Zia-ur-Rehman, Wafadar Momand, Mohammad Saleem, Sayed Shirzad