Rashid Khan Returns for South Africa ODIs
The news that Rashid Khan rejoined Afghanistan one day international side for SA tour has been good news for the team fans. He was forced to sit out of several games last year because of his back problem. People were looking forward to his coming back and here he is all set for the ax. Rashid return for Afghanistan is good news for the team as it adds depth to the spin bowling department.
Afghan team came under the major pressure and they were missing Rashid in major matches. That’s why he is important for the team’s middle-over bowling efficacy, particularly due to his outstanding leg-spin. He was Afghanistan’s most recent player in the 2023 World Cup. Rashid had to undergo a surgery on his back and after it he took months for him to recover.
He also lost the opportunities in major leagues such as BBL, PSL and SA20. Afghanistan’s bowling arsenal was weakened without its principle weapon. Though, he failed to perform initially and was dropped for Ireland T20I series but he came back strongly and did well. He adds balance in the team because he has different abilities from the rest of the team members.
Ibrahim Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rahman Remain Unavailable
Ibrahim Zadran is not available for the game because of ankle injury. He got the injury when he was training the Afghanistan Test team against New Zealand. Lack of Ibrahim undermine Afghanistan in sense of having strong batsman at top order. He has always been very reliable during his initial stages and thus served him well.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the other slow left-arm orthodox spinner is out of the playing eleven due to the finger injury he has suffered. In the course of practice, Mujeeb damaged his right index finger through a sprain. Mystery spin is one of the biggest losses Afghanistan ever incurred from him. He has got one of the best.Length.
Afghanistan Strengthens Squad with Uncapped Players
Afghanistan has summoned new faces for the series of One-day Internationals against South Africa. There are three new faces in the team; Bilal Sami, Darwish Rasooli and Abdul Malik. They will especially come in handy when trying to replace some of the players who might have been injured.
Bilal Sami a medium pace bowler is being selected for a national team for the first time. For domestic cricket, he has been very effective, which made the selectors appreciate him. The addition of Sami improves the Afghanistan’s bowling arsenal particularly in the pace department. He will be desperate to come and score on his first game in the new team.
Darwish Rasooli a right-handed top order batter is set make his ODI debut. Rasooli has had the honour of featuring in seven T20Is and has performed well in the domestic format of the game. He provides aggressive options in the Afghanistan’s middle order.
Top-order batter Abdul Malik comes into the squad as a replacement of Ibrahim Zadran. Malik has already 40 Test matches for Afghanistan to his credit and has scored heavily. This will be his debut season in the format, We know that this is his first chance to play ODIs. He wants to consolidate his position thus performing consistently on the field.
Rashid’s Key Role in Afghanistan’s Bowling Attack
It is the return of Rashid Khan which is of significant importance to Afghanistan’s bowling line-up. Rashid is a great leg-spin bowler in todays world cricket. Afghanistan has a wicket taking option in middle overs which is a strength for his team.
Since Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been released Rashid has extra burden in his hands. In Afghanistan, spin addToCart() plays a major factor in the bowling style of the team. This is made possible by Rashid who enables them to stick to this tactic. He also has also been a leader for the team and provides this leadership to his specially nominated squad.
Afghanistan’s Pace Attack Looks Stronger
Afghanistan’s pace attack is still strengthening. In the last few years Afghanistan has a well managed bowling combination. Fazalhaq Farooqi and Fareed Ahmad are the key bowling line up of the team. They have the variety and experience required to test the South African batting-line.
His inclusion is an added boost for Afghan bowling especially if Bilal Sami who is a young talent in the team. The arm joins an impressive pace bowling line up which is a major strength of Afghanistan cricket team. Afghanistan always had spin attack, but given pace bowlers in the form, things are totally different now. The team has now a combination of pace bowlers and spinners that offer a menacing attack.
Left-arm seam of Fareed Ahmad will give an additional choice of bowling. He makes a difference for the Afghanistan in pressure moments because he stayed with them for a long time. Another fast bowling all rounder of Afghanistan is Naveed Zadran who adds strength in the bowling line of Afghanistan.
South Africa’s Challenge Ahead
South Africa poses a very difficult test for Afghanistan. As for them, they come with a solid angled, experienced team to the series. Quinton de Kock is the strong wicketkeeper/batsman leading South Africa’s hard-hitting batting arsenal that can contain good bowling line-ups.
Afghanistan has to make sure that their bowlers really toil hard to put the match out of reach of the Aussies aggressive batsman. Rashid Khan, who frequently comes to the crease during the time of set batsmen and take their wickets, will be very important. Afghanistan’s fast bowlers have the responsibility of getting wickets as soon as possible.
Fielding will also have a big part for the Afghanistan team as well. They require excellent fielding against the fast bowling batting sting of South Africas. This is will greatly be determined by Rashid Khan’s leadership and influence in the young bowlers.
Preparation for the Champions Trophy
The ODIs in South Africa are important preparation for the tournaments ahead especially the Champions Trophy. Afghanistan secured their place in the 2025 Champions Trophy for ranking the 6th position in the 2023 World Cup. These match help Afghanistan to prepare their team for the other competition that they have in near future.
To confront South Africa in bilateral ODI series is something of big chance. Before this series Afghanistan only face South Africa in the World Cups. In this format, the team will have an opportunity to practice against one of the strongest teams of the league.
That is why this series will foster the morale of the Afghanistan team. The team says that they stand to benefit from future international competitions hence the need to increase their polls. A good show against the South Africans will stand them in good stead in the Champions Trophy.
Spin Bowling: Afghanistan’s Strength
But, spin bowling still would consider being Afghanistan’s greatest strength. Rashid Khan’s inclusion brings in more strength to the spin bowling department of the team. Rashid will then take the responsibilities of spinning attack to restrict Afghanistan in middle overs.
It will be the loss of Mujeeb but Afghanistan isn’t exactly skinny on the spinners front. AM Ghazanfar joins the Bollywood from the group of Mujeeb. Ghazanfar played his first game this year and as expected, he has a lot of potential. He now has the opportunity to demonstrate himself on the international level.
Its interesting to note that Rashid takes up the responsibility of Mujeeb and Noor Ahmad when they are missing. Experience and knowledge will by passed to the young bowlers by him. Afghanistan will bank on their spin bowlers to put pressure to the South Africa noisy packed lineup.
Afghanistan’s Key Players to Watch
Rashid Khan: Rashid is the key player of Afghan team. That is why nobody doubts that Smith’s leg-spin bowling can turn the tide at any time. Its middle overs have been quite dominating from Rashid, and that makes him the big キャン Afghanistan would rely on.
Fazalhaq Farooqi: Farooqi is possibly the most reliable fast bowler in Afghanistan. He could move the ball early in the innings which could be a cozzer to the South Africa’s top order batsmen. It would also help Afghanistan to rely on Farooqi to come up with early breakthroughs.
Darwish Rasooli: For Afghanistan, Rasooli could be one of the picks in their fast rising batsmen line up. He comes with the aspect of aggression and style to the middle order. Afghanistan sees Rasooli as the man capable of offering the batting strength that will be needed against South Africa’s bowling line up.
AM Ghazanfar: Mujeeb ur Rehman is left out of the Afghanistan side and Ghazanfar comes into outfit as second spinner for Afghanistan. When he has had opportunities in earlier games he has demonstrated his ability and will get another opportunity in this series.
What to Expect from South Africa
South Africa arrives for this ODI series with a well-cooked team. Their batting line up headed by Quinton de Kock is going to be a big test.The Afghanistan bowlers should therefore ensure that they do not concede needless loose balls that will give the South African side an easy ride in the game.
Another weapon that South Africa also utilises effectively is a pace attack. Afghanistan needs to deal with the challenge of the pace bowlers and that is a particular task set for the top order. The major challenge will be to avoid early collapse of the New Ball and try to chase some target.
He added that Afghanistan also needs to deal with South Africa’s spinners. Rashid Khan will be useful for the identification of weaknesses in the South African batsman. With the ball he will monitor the middle overs making it difficult for the South Africa team to post a decent score.
Afghanistan’s Batting Lineup
There has been an emergence of stability in Afghanistan’s batting department in the recent past. This is in view of the fact that experience has depicted that players like Rahmat Shah creates stable a team. Thus, Rahmat enhances Afghanistan’s power in the first eleven.
Afghanistan will now have to find a way for Ibrahim Zadran to open because of the latter’s injury. That space is now vacant and Abdul Malik is lucky to be given this opportunity to occupy it. It is quite beneficial to have Malik as an opener as this will change the energy at the top of Afghanistan’s order.
A number of powerful mid-tier players are there in Afghanistan’s team including Darwish Rasooli and Najibullah Zadran. It is important to note that these players come with experience and they are also very aggressive. Afghanistan justifiably has to work for building a stable team to post fighting figures.
How Rashid’s Return Impacts Team Morale
Everyone in the Afghanistan side gets a boost with the return of Rashid Khan. He extends confidence to the young players within the team especially his leadership while on the field. To this day, Rashid is still well recognized as Afghanistan’s most prominent cricketer and a hero in the eyes of the team.
This makes the players get motivated by such energy and determination from him. There is some relief regarding the spin bowling for Afghanistan since Rashid is the one in charge now. This is why the other players have faith in Rashid that he can transform the game at the decisive periods.
The same can be said of Rashid’s comeback as well, since it is a signal to rivals as well. Players and supporters are fully aware that when Rashid is at his best, teams will have a hard time to deal with him. Afghanistan can now approach the South Africa series with confidence and positive mind-set.
Conclusion
Rashid Khan coming back to Afghanistan ODI team during the south Africa series is a game changer. He adds depth to Afghan spin attack and also provides much needed morale boost to the team. Nonetheless, Afghanistan has taken relatively talented uncapped players to try and fill up the holes left behind by players such as Ibrahim Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
Afghanistan has to gain valuable experience when they face South Africa in a bilateral ODI series. These matches are in preparations of the 2025 Champions Trophy. It earns points and creates favorable conditions for further competitions, Australian analysts wrote about plans of the Afghanistan Cricket Board. Afghanistan’s major hope is Rashid Khan leadership and experience as his side faces a powerful South Africa side.
FAQs
1. When does the Afghanistan vs South Africa ODI series start?
The series begins in the end of September of the year 2024.
2. Who is missing from the Afghanistan squad for the ODIs?
Ibrahim Zadran and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are out of the tournament due to the injuries.
3. Who are the uncapped players joining Afghanistan’s ODI squad?
Now some new players are ready to join the squad these are Bilal Sami, Darwish Rasooli, and Abdul Malik.
4. Why is Rashid Khan’s return important for Afghanistan?
Rashid’s availability tightens Afghanistan’s spin department and also improves team morale.
5. What impact will this series have on Afghanistan’s preparation for the Champions Trophy?
After Champions Trophy, this series will be very important for Afghanistan in the view of preparation.
