From pickup games in dusty parks or narrow alleys to high-intensity training at well-kitted academies, young Afghans have cricket fever -- a trend spiked by the surprise performance of the Afghan national team at the recent ODI World Cup.

Star Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan pulled out of Australia's Big Bash League Thursday with a back injury that requires minor surgery, his team said.

Afghanistan need a big victory in order to get a significant boost to their net run rate as they look to keep their World Cup 2023 semifinal hopes alive when they face a South Africa outfit looking to bounce back from a crushing defeat at the hands of India.

Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi said Thursday that he had "wanted and expected more" at the World Cup as dreams of a semi-final place slipped away.

Shahidi’s performances so far in this World Cup have forced everyone to take notice of the southpaw. 

Prior to the Sunday's fixture in Delhi, the highly anticipated quadrennial tournament was following the expected route, more or less, devoid of any big upset that would force the casual fans to take notice.

Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman on Sunday dedicated his team's stunning Cricket World Cup victory over champions England to the victims of the earthquakes which have rocked his country.

Rashid believes the more spin-friendly Indian wickets at this World Cup will give him the stage to shine and he hopes he can inspire the next generation of Afghan cricketers.

From the remaining five players from respective participants, one more pacer made the cut: pacer Jasprit Bumrah of India. Here is the full list of players to watch:

Ace spinner Rashid Khan was named on Sunday in Afghanistan's 16-member squad for the one-day international series against Pakistan.

Skipper Nicholas Pooran scored only the second ton in Major League Cricket (MLC) history to power Mumbai Indians New York to a six-wicket win in the final against Seattle Orcas and clinch the title on Monday.

Just ahead of the series against Afghanistan, there were a lot of talks over the threat that the Afghanistan spinners pose and their impact in the shortest format of the game as teams all around the world face difficulty to negotiate the class of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman.

Premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan has been the flagbearer for Afghanistan and has already established himself as one of the best in the world having played all across the globe.

The Afghan selectors announced an 18-member squad, led by skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi where the likes of Mohammad Nabi, Mujeeb Ur Rahman also feature.

At least six cricketers in the Afghanistan side are waiting to make their Test debuts.

Despite the absence of star spinner Rashid Khan for the upcoming one-off Test against Bangladesh, Afghanistan skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi informed that his side still have enough bowlers in the side who could win the game for his side.

Afghanistan named a 15-man squad for the one-off Test against Bangladesh, starting from June 14, and the biggest takeaway was the absence of key spin threat Rashid Khan, who was reportedly being rested.

Fast-bowling duo of Ibrahim Abdulrahimzai and Nijat Masoud and the young leggie Izharulhaq Naweed have been added to the squad

Rashid Khan is set to miss the first two ODIs of the series against Sri Lanka but is expected to return for the third and final match, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) confirmed

While Bangladesh, despite being a Test-playing nation for over two decades, are still struggling to grow a decent wrist spinner, superstar leggie Rashid Khan of Afghanistan made a bold claim that his country boasts ‘more than 1000’ wrist spinners.