‘Doctor told me to stay away from red-ball cricket’: Rashid Khan’s Test career in doubt amid injury concerns

NEW DELHI: Afghanistan’s premier spinner Rashid Khan revealed that red-ball cricket has been challenging for him due to medical advice to avoid it.

Despite this, he pushed himself to play, even bowling long spells after his back surgery, but doctors warned that continuing in the format could shorten his career and affect his longevity in the sport.

Rashid has been battling with a lower-back injury since 2023. Afghanistan are scheduled to play a Test against the Indian cricket team in June in New Chandigarh.

“Red-ball cricket is a little difficult because that was the first thing my doctor told me: ‘Stay away from red-ball cricket. I still went ahead and played. After the surgery, I played a game against Zimbabwe and bowled 67 overs, which was crazy. The doctor told me, ‘If you don’t want to play cricket, you can keep playing red-ball cricket. He said it’s not going to help me and that I won’t be able to play for long”, Rashid Khan told reporters.

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Rashid also said he is reconsidering his involvement in Test cricket due to the heavy physical strain, especially after bowling excessive overs in recent matches. While he remains committed to ODIs and aims for a long career with Afghanistan, he plans to manage his workload carefully to stay fit, avoid injury, and focus on major tournaments like the ODI World Cup.

“So yes, I will think about it. But ODI cricket, I really enjoy that format. I am in good shape to play ODIs for a longer period for Afghanistan. However, I want to be careful about how much I play and not put too much load on myself if I want to have a longer career,” he said.

“In my last two Test matches, I bowled 126 overs, which is simply too much. I will take it easy and prepare myself for the World Cup. Imagine if something happens to my back during a Test match, I can’t play 100 Tests. There is no specific target for me in Test cricket,” he added.

Since gaining Test status in 2017, the Afghanistan national cricket team have played 12 Tests, with Rashid Khan featuring in just six. In six fixture the, Afghanistan’s star spinner has scalped 45 wickets, including three five-wicket hauls. (ANI)