Rashid ‘excited’ to captain Afghanistan in Bangladesh Test

CHITTAGONG: Afghanistan’s spin prodigy Rashid Khan faces a tough challenge as he captains his side for the first time against Bangladesh in only his war-torn country’s third Test starting on Thursday.

Afghanistan obtained Test status in 2017. In their first outing in June 2018 India thrashed them inside two days, but in the second in March they beat fellow newcomers Ireland by seven wickets.

Leg-spinner Rashid was named skipper for all three formats ater their dire World Cup campaign in England and Wales when they lost all nine matches and were dogged by several controversies.

The Indian Premier League (IPL) star will become the youngest ever Test captain at the age of 20 years 350 days when he steps out in the Test match at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chitagong.

He will overtake Zimbabwe’s Tatenda Taibu, who made his debut as Test captain just eight days older than Rashid against Sri Lanka at Harare in 2004.

“It’s quite good to be leading the team at such young age I think. It’s a big opportunity for me to learn something in a very young age,” Rashid told reporters in Chitagong on Wednesday.

“Representing your team in Test matches is always a huge proud moment and a pleasure for me. But leading the team is something very special.”

Afghanistan will be up against a side who have won five of their last 10 Tests at home, including one each against England and Australia.

Bangladesh are expected to field a spin-heavy atack against the visitors for the one-off Test, but Bangladesh Test skipper Shakib Al Hasan said he was not bothered by criticism for their over reliance on spin.

Bangladesh played their last home Test against West Indies in November without any pace bowlers.

Four spinners accounted for all 40 wickets as Bangladesh defeated West Indies 2-0 in the series.