Image Credit- PTI
With his rehabilitation from back surgery still being
handled carefully, Rashid Khan has withdrawn from the Pakistan Super League.
In the last three PSL seasons, Rashid has competed
with Lahore Qalandars, where he won championships in 2022 and 2023. Prior to
the December draft, he was signed by the team in the “silver” salary
bracket with the knowledge that he might not be available for the 2024 team but
might be brought back for more seasons.
Since then, he has formally withdrew from the
competition as he works towards his recuperation following surgery in November.
The PCB has stated that on Monday, there would be a virtual supplemental and
replacement draft, during which Qalandars will have the opportunity to select a
different player to replace Rashid.
After pulling out of the Big Bash League and the SA20,
Rashid flew to India with his Afghanistan teammates for their T20I series
earlier this month, but was not considered healthy enough to participate. Their
head coach, Jonathan Trott, stated, “It is a case of us making sure that
we are really careful with his back.”
“He is such an influential player: we have to
make sure he is 100% ready and not rush him back from that type of surgery…
when he is ready, he will be the first one to get on the field. He has got a
few more appointments and check-ups to make sure everything is OK, so there is
no real time-frame. I hope it is sooner rather than later, but there is no
pressure and no rush.”
Rashid is on course to be fit in time to fulfil his
IPL commitments with Gujarat Titans. He could even feature for Afghanistan at
some stage before then, most likely during Ireland’s multi-format tour to the
UAE which runs from February 28 until March 18.