Rashid Khan is set to miss the three-match T20I series between India and Afghanistan in January 2024.

India will host Afghanistan for three T20Is, at Mohali on January 11, at Indore on January 14, and at Bengaluru on January 17, 2023.  These will be India’s last T20Is before this year’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA,

Afghanistan T20I captain Rashid Khan will miss the entire India series. He underwent a surgery after the 2023 World Cup, and had to miss the Big Bash League as well as the three-match T20I series against the UAE. Ibrahim Zadran led Afghanistan instead.

With the uncertainty still looming over Rashid, the Afghanistan Cricket Board had retained Ibrahim as captain for the India T20Is as well, though Rashid featured in the squad.

At the pre-series press conference, Ibrahim confirmed to the media that Rashid will not be part of the games: “He is not totally fit, but is travelling with the team. We hope that he gets fit as soon as we expect him to. He’s doing his rehab with the doctor, and we will miss him in the series.”

Ibrahim also assured that Afghanistan were a strong unit even in the absence of Rashid, the greatest cricketer in their history: “Without Rashid, there are a few players that we have trust in. I can say, they will play good cricket. Others have also played a lot of cricket and I am sure they will perform well.”

At the same time, he added: “Without Rashid, we will struggle because his experience is crucial to all of us, but this is cricket and you need to be ready for any kind of situation.”

Afghanistan had named a 19-member squad including Rashid. In his absence, they will pick their spinners from Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Qais Ahmad, and all-rounder Mohammad Nabi.

Afghanistan squad for India T20Is: Ibrahim Zadran (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Hazratullah Zazai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Karim Janat, Gulbadin Naib, Qais Ahmad, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Fareed Ahmad, Mohammad Saleem. Ruled out: Rashid Khan.