RASHID BACK FOR PROTEAS REMATCH IN THE UAE

MI Cape Town superstar Rashid Khan will make a much-anticipated return to the Afghanistan team to face the Proteas in a three-match ODI series later this month in the UAE. 

Rashid has not played any ODI’s for Afghanistan since last year’s ICC World Cup in India. He was, however, an integral part of the Afghan team that reached their first-ever T20 World Cup semi-final in the USA and Caribbean, where they were ironically defeated by the Proteas in Tarouba. 

Rashid is joined in the Afghanistan squad by his MI Cape Town teammate Azmatullah Omarzai and Pretoria Capitals opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz. 

The Proteas will, however, not face Paarl Royals mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is still recovering from a sprain in the index finger of his right hand.

The Afghani selectors have also sprung a surprise by omitting Durban’s Super Giants duo Noor Ahmed and Naveen-ul-Haq, despite their impressive performances currently in the Caribbean Premier League. 

MI Cape Town will certainly be pleased to see Rashid back in action after he underwent back surgery last year after the World Cup, which forced the 25-year-old to miss a large proportion of last season, including Betway SA20 Season 2. 

Rashid captained MI Cape Town in Season 1 before West Indies all-rounder Kieron Pollard took over the leadership duties last season in his absence.

Pollard has since been released by MI Cape Town for Season 3 with Rashid set to return to Newlands next January.

Afghanistan and the Proteas will play three ODI’s at the Sharjah International Stadium.

Full Afghanistan squad

Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Pretoria Capitals), Ikram Alikhil, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai (MI Cape Town), Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan (MI Cape Town), Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran, Fareed Ahmad