Rashid Khan, a key player for MI New York, will not participate in the 2025 Major League Cricket (MLC) season. According to ESPNcricinfo, the Afghanistan all-rounder has decided to take a break just as the tournament is set to begin on Friday.
Rashid’s absence is a significant loss for MI New York. In the previous MLC season, he was their standout bowler, claiming ten wickets with an impressive economy rate of 6.15. However, the team managed just two wins out of seven matches, finishing fourth. Recently, Rashid represented Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, which ended disappointingly for him and his team after they were knocked out by Mumbai Indians in the Eliminator match. It marked his least successful IPL season since his debut in 2017, securing only nine wickets at a high economy rate of 9.34 and an average of 57.11, troublingly conceding the most sixes by any bowler for a single IPL season.
In another setback for MI New York, Azmatullah Omarzai, another Afghanistan all-rounder, will also miss the MLC season as he too has chosen to take a break from cricket. Omarzai last played in the IPL for Punjab Kings, the tournament runners-up.
Despite these absences, there is encouraging news for the MLC. Afghanistan players like Naveen-ul-Haq (also from Mumbai), Noor Ahmed (Texas Super Kings), and Waqar Salamkheil (Seattle Orcas) will participate in this year’s tournament. Concerns had been raised about the participation of Afghan players due to a newly imposed US travel ban affecting citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Gulbadin Naib and Fazalhaq Farooqi, also from Afghanistan and slated to play for the Seattle Orcas, are reportedly still waiting for their travel visas to join the league.
Nagraj Gollapudi
ESPNcricinfo News Editor
