Bangladesh Tri-Series 2019: Rashid Khan in Doubt for the T20I Tri-series Final

Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan is in doubt for the final of the tri-nation series against Bangladesh on Tuesday, 24 September. He hurt his left hamstring during the final group league game against Bangladesh. The tri-series involves Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. The 21-year-old sustained the injury while he was fielding during the eighth over of Bangladesh’s successful run-chase at Chattogram on Saturday.

Afghanistan had already sealed the berth in the final, so the defeat didn’t cause much harm to the team. However, Rashid Khan’s injury became a big concern for his side. He was attended to by the team physio before walking off the ground after getting injured.

However, he showed a great effort on his return to the field, picking up the wickets of Mahmudullah and Afif Hossain to try and dent Bangladesh’s run chase in spite of the discomfort.

Rashid Khan is currently the No.1 bowler on the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Rankings, and Afghanistan will try to use him in the final if he is able to participate. Team manager Nazim Jar Abdur Rahim Zai said his injury would be monitored over the next couple of days.

“I cannot say that he will be available [for the final],” Zai said to the reporters. “He is doing well and let’s see what’s happening. We will have two or three days for recovery. I hope it’s not that serious because he is our captain and main player and we will monitor him tomorrow and the day after [before taking any decision].”

However, Afghanistan showed a great performance throughout the series where they once beat Zimbabwe and Bangladesh in the group league before losing to them. Along with the captain, another mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has performed well with the ball. He is currently in second place with 7 wickets from 4 games, including a four-fer.

On the other hand, Rahmanullah Gurbaz is at the top of the batters’ list with 133 runs in 4 games. Mohammad Nabi is in the third position with 130 runs from as many games. It will be interesting to see how Afghanistan would perform if the captain won’t be around in the final.