Zardan ruled out, Rashid returns to Afghanistan's squad for ODI series against South Africa

Rashid has been named in Afghanistan's 17-member squad for their upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, beginning on September 18 in the UAE.

Rashid was a notable absentee in Afghanistan's squad for the one-off Test against New Zealand in Greater Noida.

After last year's World Cup, Rashid had undergone back surgery. He was out of action and missed Afghanistan's series against UAE, India and Sri Lanka, and ODIs against Ireland.

Afghanistan will also miss the presence of mystery spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman, who is still recovering from a sprain in the index finger of his right hand.

Along with Mujeeb, top-order batter Ibrahim Zadran has been ruled out of the series due to an ankle sprain in his left leg. Afghanistan have called on talented top-order batter Abdul Malik to fill Zardan's shoes.

Darwish Rasooli is also in contention to make his ODI debut for Afghanistan after being named in the squad. The 24-year-old batter has seven T20I caps to his name so far. He has put on consistent performances in the recently held List A Cup and the SCL9.

"Mujeeb Ur Rahman continues to recover from his injury and is unavailable for selection. Ibrahim Zadran will also miss the South Africa ODIs for twisting his ankle on the edge of the New Zealand Test. However, we have included some of the top-performing youngsters, Abdul Malik and Darwish Rasooli. Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar is also a talented cricketer and has demonstrated excellent skills recently and will cover for Mujeeb Ur Rahman in the series," Chief Selector Ahmad Shah Sulimankhil said, as quoted from a statement by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).

All games of the three-match ODI series will be played in Sharjah. This will be the first time that Afghanistan and South Africa will face off in a bilateral ODI series. Before the upcoming series, both teams only met at the 2019 and 2023 ODI World Cups.

Afghanistan Squad for the three-match ODI series against South Africa: Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Rahmat Shah (VC), Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ikram Alikhil (WK), Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangyal Kharoti, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar, Fazal Haq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran and Farid Ahmad Malik. (ANI)