Team India is set to lock horns with Afghanistan in the one-off Test match, which will begin from June 6 at the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.
Afghanistan`s star all-rounder Rashid Khan is likely to skip the Test match as he was advised by the doctors to stay away from red-ball cricket after a back surgery.
While the likelihood of playing a Test match in India is attractive, the all-rounder has maintained his priority of remaining fit for the ODI World Cup 2027 in South Africa.
Earlier, he underwent a lower-back surgery after the ODI World Cup 2023 and revealed that his doctors have cautioned him from featuring in the traditional format of the game. Despite that, he made his appearance in a Test match against Zimbabwe, in which he bowled 54 overs and picked up 11 wickets.
“Very tough question. It`s a little difficult in red ball, because that was the first thing which was told to me by the doctor, `You have to stay away from red ball.` But I still played a Test against Zimbabwe,” Rashid told reporters.
“He (doctor) said `if you don`t want to play cricket, you keep playing the red ball format`,” he added.
The Nangarhar-born cricketer also stated that he won`t be able to play cricket if he sustains any back injury in the Test match against Team India.
“You`re asking me very tough questions. I think I already played one before (in 2025), so I will just take it easy, get myself ready for the World Cup. Imagine something happens to my back in that Test match, I can`t play 100 Test matches. If you`re playing one Test in a year, I can`t play for 100 years, so there is no target in Test cricket,” he said.
Rashid Khan provides an update on his participation in ODI matches for Afghanistan
However, Rashid said that he will continue to make his appearance for Afghanistan in One-Day Internationals (ODIs) for a longer period of time.
“ODIs, yes, I enjoy, and I`m in a good shape to play ODIs for a longer period of time for Afghanistan, but just to be careful with how many I play, and not to put too much load on myself, to be careful if I want to play for a longer period of time,” said the 27-year-old cricketer.
(With PTI Inputs)
