Rashid Khan to Retire from Test Cricket? Afghanistan Star Gives Shocking Reason!

Afghanistan star Rashid Khan has revealed he will restrict his appearances in Test cricket to just one match per year as he battles long-term back issues and prioritises a longer international career, particularly in white-ball formats ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup.

The 27-year-old leg-spinner, who captains Afghanistan in T20Is and recently starred in the IPL with figures of 3 for 17 for Gujarat Titans, played his most recent Test against Zimbabwe in January 2025. He is now unlikely to feature in the one-off Test against India scheduled for June 6 in Mullanpur.

Speaking after the Zimbabwe match in Bulawayo, where he bowled a punishing 67 overs across two innings against medical advice, Rashid said, "I bowled 67 [55] overs, which was crazy. The doctor told me like, 'if you don't want to play cricket, you keep playing the red-ball cricket' because it's not going to support you. You won't be [there] for longer to play for Afghanistan."

He added that he still went ahead and played, but the doctor was shocked: "He was 'no, you can't do that to yourself'. I will think about that."

Rashid, who has played only six Tests since his 2018 debut (taking 45 wickets at 20.44), explained his decision stems from managing workload after opting against back surgery before the 2023 World Cup.

"And I'm in a good shape to play ODI for a longer period of time for Afghanistan, but just to be careful with how many I play and not to put too much load on myself... But especially, red-ball is something which looks a bit difficult for me to keep it. Yes, one Test in a year, I will take that. But I don't think so more than that I can play."

On the possibility of facing India, he was blunt. The two nations will play a one-off Test in June, and the Afghan spinner may not be a part of it.

"I've already played one before. So I will just take it easy. Imagine something happens to my back in that Test match. I can't play 100 Test matches. If you're playing one Test in a year, I can't play for 100 years. And there is no target in Test cricket."