Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has backflipped on his decision to boycott the Big Bash League, nominating for the upcoming Overseas Player Draft.
In January, the 24-year-old claimed he was “strongly considering” his future in the BBL after Cricket Australia withdrew from a three-match ODI series against Afghanistan in the United Arab Emirates.
CA pulled out of the white-ball series, initially scheduled for March, in response to the Taliban’s treatment of women, including growing restrictions on education and employment opportunities.
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, many of Afghanistan’s female athletes have gone into hiding and received death threats. Afghanistan remains the only ICC full member nation without a women’s team.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board slammed CA’s “unfair and unexpected” withdrawal, accusing the organisation of “prioritising political interests over the principles of fair play and sportsmanship”. The ACB also threatened to contact the International Cricket Council and prohibit Afghan players from participating in the BBL.
Rashid, who is No. 1 on the ICC Men’s T20I bowling rankings, said he was “really disappointed” with CA’s decision to cancel the ODI series, indicating he would boycott the Big Bash in protest.
“I take great pride in representing my country and we have made great progress on the world stage. This decision from CA sets us back in that journey,” Rashid tweeted in January.
“If playing vs Afghanistan is so uncomfortable for Australia then I wouldn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable with my presence in the BBL.”
Afghanistan bowler Naveen-ul-Haq, who represented the Sydney Sixers last summer, also threatened to boycott the BBL following CA’s announcement.
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However, Rashid has seemingly had a change of heart. As first reported by AAP and later confirmed by CA, the talented spinner is set to be unveiled as one of the nominations for this year‘s Draft, where the Adelaide Strikers will almost certainly retain him as their platinum pick.
Fellow Afghan cricketers Izharulhaq Naveed, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Shafiqullah Ghafari will also be eligible for selection in the Draft on Sunday, September 3.
Rashid, who has taken 98 wickets at 17.51 since making his BBL debut in 2017, will only be available for seven games this summer before travelling to South Africa for the SA20, which gets underway on January 10.
England cricketers Harry Brook, Zak Crawley and James Vince have also nominated for the Draft, with a full list of names to be unveiled on Monday.