Rashid Khan has been sensational since his debut for Afghanistan cricket team back in 2015 at the mere age of 17 years. The thing thats stands out most about Rashid, is his uncompromising standards and his fearless attitude. These attributes have made him the most demanding player in top T20 leagues in matter of years.
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In this year’s IPL, Rashid was among the most important player in Sunrisers Hyderabad squad. He was able to make good batsman dance at his will on regular basis, which brought him praises from all around the cricketing world, including Sachin Tendulkar.
“I never thought in my life that I would be able to achieve so much in such a short time. It is like a dream. Sachin’s tweet was unreal. I kept on thinking for hours what to reply to him. I was really happy. Virat [Kohli] also praised me a lot and [MS] Dhoni also during the course of the IPL. It lifts your confidence a lot when they compliment you,”the 19 year old exclaimed.
Now Rashid Khan and his Afghanistan team are gearing up for a new horizon in nation’s cricketing history, their first ever test match, against the mighty Team India. This match will commence at Bengaluru on June 14 in what will be a one-off test between the two sides.
Rashid Khan will be the key player if Afghanistan wants to put up any fight against India.
The leggie has recently accepted that he will not be making an change in his bowling style. Rashid Khan always bowls a bit quicker than any other leggie going around, and he also relies a lot on his googlies, which has brought him tremendous success in limited over cricket.
Rashid believes it’s the mindset that needs to change, not the bowling style.
“Being a Test cricketer is not a lot different to playing ODIs and T20s. I have done well in whatever four-day opportunities that I have got. If I make changes in my bowling thinking about the Test, it will not be good for me. I will bowl with the same speed I have been bowling so far.” Rashid Khan said.
“I have to make sure that I don’t panic. I know there will be a phase where I won’t pick up a wicket for 20 overs. And I could pick up two in two overs. It is Test cricket. It is going to be a test of patience. There is a possibility that I might end up being wicket-less,” he added
Afghanistan has young group of players with some experience to go around in the name of Mohammad Nabi for their Test match against India. Their newest sensational leg spinner Mujeeb Rahman, with Rashid can really make a mark on the spinning Bengaluru wicket, if Indian’s aren’t careful enough.
“We back each other. Whether it is Mohammad Nabi, who is a senior player, and [or] Mujeeb. We share whatever knowledge we have. Mujeeb has been superb and amazing so far. He has lots of skills and in future he will be able to do even better. We have a good pool of players at the first-class level back in Afghanistan. They just need a little polishing and experience,” Rashid concluded.
