There is a distinct advantage of having Rashid Khan in the team as Afghanistan coach Phil Simmons feels all the spotlight which the star spinner has garnered has allowed his lesser-known colleagues to prepare peacefully for the historic one-off Test against India. Asked if all this attention on Rashid has been of help, Simmons agreed. I think it has.

But the good thing about Rashid is that he is so professional that he knows how to deal with it. That has allowed others to have time to work on their strategies. I think it's a good thing for the team, Simmons said on the eve of Afghanistan's debut Test match. On the team front, Simmons dropped a hint that beefy keeper-batsman Mohammed Shahzad may purely play as a batsman as they have a designated four-day keeper in Afsar Zazai.