Rashid Khan returns as Afghanistan announce 19-man squad for Bangladesh ODIs

Ace leg-spinner Rashid Khan has returned to Afghanistan's 19-man squad for the three-match ODI series against Bangladesh, starting on July 5th. The tourists have also named five uncapped players in the squad to take on Bangladesh.

Rashid missed the one-off Test against Bangladesh in Dhaka as the team management wanted to give him some time to recuperate from his back issues. The youngster played an integral role in Afghanistan's Test win over Bangladesh in 2019 with his 11-wicket haul. However, his absence meant that the hosts notched a mammoth 546-run victory over Afghanistan.

ACB's chief selector Asadullah Khan addressed Rashid's return and told Cricbuzz:

"Definitely (Rashid's 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."

Zia Akbar, Izharulhaq Naveed, Wafadar Momand, Abdur Rahman and Saleem Shafi are the uncapped players in the squad that also saw the return of Shahidullah Kamal and Sayeed Ahmad Shirzad.

While Noor Ahmad was one of the breakout stars of IPL 2023, Asadullah said they want to preserve him for T20 cricket and Rashid and Mujeeb ur Rahman for ODIs.

Playing for the Gujarat Titans, Ahmad, the leggie finished with16 scalps in 13 matches at 23.06 while maintaining an economy rate of 7.82. Nevertheless, his efforts went in vain as the Titans lost in the final to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK).

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Afghanistan announce 19-member squad to face Bangladesh

Squad: 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.

Backup reserves: Karim Janat, Zubaid Akbari, Qais Ahmad, Ihsanullah Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Naveen-ul-Haq, Farid Malik, Darwish Rasooli, Ishaq Rahimi.