"It is very difficult to replace Rashid Khan": Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott
Jun 13, 2023
Mirpur [Bangladesh], June 13 : Afghanistan head coach Jonathan Trott reflected on how his team will cope in the absence of their star player Rashid Khan in their upcoming series against Bangladesh.
Rashid has played an instrumental role in the success that Afghanistan has enjoyed over the past few years.
But the ace spinner has been rested for the Test match against Bangladesh in Mirpur which is set to begin on June 14. Trott reflected on how difficult it would be to replace their crucial player.
"It is very difficult to replace a guy like Rashid. He has vast experience in playing all around the world in different competitions and different variations of the game. He has played Test cricket. So yes, that's obviously missed," Trott said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
"But I think him having time off, obviously there's a lot of cricket coming up. Asia Cup and World Cup is coming up. I certainly see this time off for him now to get his back sorted out, with a view to the future, in the competitions in a few months' time," Trott added.
Earlier, Rashid was also sidelined for Afghanistan's opening two matches of the three-ODI series against Sri Lanka due to a lower back injury.
Afghanistan certainly missed his presence during that ODI series as they ended up losing by 2-1. The Afghanistan's team are still young in the Test format but Rashid has still made his presence felt by picking up 34 wickets in 5 matches.
Afghanistan Squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah (vice-captain), Afsar Zazai (wk), Ikram Alikhil, Ibrahim Zadran, Abdul Malik, Bahir Shah, Nasir Jamal, Karim Janat, Zahir Khan, Izharulhaq Naveed, Amir Hamza, Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai, Yamin Ahmadzai, Nijat Masood
Reserves: Noor Ali Zadran, Zia-ur-Rehman, Azmatullah Omarzai and Sayed Shirzad.
