Rashid Khan reveals that Mujeeb Ur Rahman suffers from hand injury

Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Afghanistan's highly-ranked spinner, was unavailable for their second Group C encounter against New Zealand on Friday, June 7, at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. Captain Rashid Khan said that his spin partner, Mujeeb, missed out owing to a recurring hand injury worry. In their opening competition encounter, New Zealand won the toss and chose to field in the late evening clash.

Afghanistan replaced Mujeeb Ur Rahman with left-arm wrist spinner Noor Ahmed. Still, the absence of the mystery spinner caused a significant setback to the Asian team, particularly against New Zealand. Mujeeb Ur Rahman took one wicket in the opening game against Uganda, allowing only 16 runs in his three overs.

Rashid Khan also acknowledged that Afghanistan does not know when Mujeeb Ur Rahman would be eligible for selection again in the T20 World Cup, emphasizing the long-standing injury worry. Notably, Mujeeb, who had been signed by the Knight Riders for the IPL 2024, missed the entire season owing to a hand injury.

According to India Today, "Mujeeb is out. He has had a hand injury. Noor is in. Mujeeb has struggled with his hand for the last 7 to 8 months. Hopefully, he will come back soon for us," Rashid Khan said.

Afghanistan entered the ICC T20 World Cup with a win

Afghanistan entered the ICC T20 World Cup with a 125-run victory over Uganda. On the other side, New Zealand unexpectedly did not choose veteran bowler Tim Southee or all-rounder Rachin Ravindra. Kane Williamson revealed that the BlackCaps will select Mark Chapman over Rachin Ravindra to strengthen the middle order.

New Zealand were exceedingly careless on the field, with wicketkeeper Devon Conway unable to hang onto anything and squandering stumping opportunities from Mitchell Santner's bowling. The outfielding was also inadequate, as Afghanistan put up a 55-run opening partnership in the first ten overs, with Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran continuing their strong form.