Huge blow to Afghanistan, star batter returns home after father's demise ahead of 1st ODI vs India

In a big setback to Afghanistan, their top-order batter Darwish Rasooli has flown back home from Dharamsala right ahead of first ODI against India, which is scheduled to get underway from June 13. Sports Tak has learnt that following the sad demise of his father, the cricketer has returned home to be with his family. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has not yet announced a replacement for him in the squad.

Darwish Rasooli returns home after father's death

The absence of the 26-year-old right-handed batter comes as a massive blow to the Afghanistan team. Rasooli brings a wealth of experience to the lineup, having scored 515 runs in 28 T20Is so far. His domestic track record is equally impressive, with 2,681 runs in 30 First-Class matches, 3,022 runs in 71 List-A games, and 2,004 runs across 92 T20 matches. Missing such a solid anchor in the batting department complicates things for Afghanistan, who are eager to make a strong comeback after losing the Test match.

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Notably, the 26-year-old batsman Darwish Rasooli lost his father on June 11. Rasooli was already in India at the time, training intensively for the limited-overs leg of the tour. Although he was not a part of the squad for the recently concluded one-off Test, the top-order batter had been entirely focused on making a potential, highly anticipated ODI debut during this series.

Later, Afghanistan captain Hashmatullah Shahidi also confirmed during a pre-match press conference in Dharamsala that Rasooli had immediately flown back home to Afghanistan to support his grieving family. The skipper expressed his deepest condolences, noting that the team received the unfortunate news the previous night and prioritized ensuring the batter could return home during such a difficult time.