Why Rashid Khan Did Not Bat Or Bowl In 2nd ODI Vs Zimbabwe?

Aakash Saini

Rashid Khan in action against Zimbabwe [Source: @ACBofficials/x]Rashid Khan in action against Zimbabwe [Source: @ACBofficials/x]

Story continues below ADVERTISEMENT

The Afghanistan cricket team cantered themselves to a big 232-run win over hosts Zimbabwe in the second ODI match at the Harare Sports Club. The emphatic outcome took Hashmatullah Shahidi’s visiting drawcards 1-0 up in the three-match series.

While the margin of victory marked Afghanistan’s largest-ever in ODI cricket, they did so without the services of ace all-rounder Rashid Khan. As it happened, Rashid neither batted nor bowled at any point during the game as his teammates reaped the spoils of Zimbabwe’s misery.

Here, we examine the exact reasons as to why Rashid Khan was not seen in action against Zimbabwe despite making it to the playing XI.

Why did Rashid Khan did not bat or bowl?

Defending 287 runs for a win, Afghanistan’s new ball pace operators Fazalhaq Farooqi and Azmatullah Omarzai themselves wrecked the entirety of Zimbabwe’s top-order within just the first seven overs of the innings.

Young off-spinner AM Ghazanfar and 19-year-old right-arm quick Naveed Zadran mopped up the remainder of Zimbabwe’s batting line-up with three quick wickets each. As it turned out, it took just 17.5 overs for the four Afghanistan bowlers to wrap up the Zimbabwean innings for 54.

With the pitch offering considerable assistance for the fast bowlers, and young tweaker AM Ghazanfar ably commanding his end of the pitch, visiting captain Hashmatullah Shahidi simply did not received any opportunity to employ Rashid Khan to the bowling attack.

With the bat, Afghanistan openers Sediqullah Atal and Abdul Malik consumed 35 overs on their own to haul 191 runs for the first wicket before captain Shahidi and senior all-rounder Mohammad Nabi navigated them to a competitive 286-run total.

With Rashid Khan slated to bat at number eight, Afghanistan lost just six wickets, including one off the last ball, during the entirety of their 50-over innings.

Nonetheless, Afghanistan will now face Zimbabwe in the series-deciding third ODI match in Harare on Saturday, December 21.