The game of cricket has been fighting to spread its roots to nations across the world. Earlier, only a handful of countries were prominent but of late, there have been a few who have risen through the ranks. There’s none better than Afghanistan whose graph has grown upwards. And when you talk about Afghanistan, there’s one name you can’t miss – Rashid Khan. Know everything about this Afghan cricketer in this Rashid Khan biography
The leg-spinner has been majorly responsible for Afghanistan’s meteoric rise in the game. In the last one or two years, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been the poster boy of cricket and after him, if there’s anyone who has hogged the limelight the most, it’s Rashid Khan.
The way the youngster has performed and stood up for any team he represented, has been remarkable. His leg-spin has proved to be unplayable, even for some of the top batsmen going around. He has broken through the rankings and already seen the peak. The most astonishing fact though is that he is just 20-year-old and with plenty of years ahead, he has the world at his feet.
Rashid Khan Early life
Rashid Khan was born in Nangarhar, eastern Afghanistan in 1998. He belongs to a large family and has 10 siblings. His family had lived in Pakistan after fleeing from the Afghan War but later returned to Afghanistan.
He had the passion for cricket since childhood. The right-hander grew up idolizing the former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi who also was a leg-spinner. Rashid tried to emulate Afridi in his bowling action and the similarity in the actions of the two is evident.
Rashid Khan biography is full of ups and downs. From a country that has been absent as far as the game of cricket, he kept on dreaming and one day, it all turned into reality. It must have been hugely challenging to develop skills despite having pretty fewer facilities in the country. Even today, the players don’t have the amenities that players from other countries have, yet Rashid Khan, against all odds, stands amongst the best in the world.
Rashid Khan’s Start in International Cricket
Rashid Khan made his international debut for Afghanistan in ODI cricket against Zimbabwe on October 18, 2015. It was also his List A debut. He scored 8 runs and took 1 wicket in Afghanistan’s win by 58 runs. Against the same opposition, he made his T20I debut on October 26, 2015. From 4 overs, he bagged one wicket and contributed in the victory of his team.
Gradually, the teenager cemented his place in the side in both the limited overs formats. Those were the days when Afghanistan didn’t play against the top nations a lot and didn’t have the Test accreditation. But the world was becoming aware of what Rashid Khan could do even in the games against the associate nations.
Rise in IPL
Rashid Khan came to the limelight when he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017 for the Indian Premier League. The franchise roped him in with a whopping bid of INR 4 crores. It was the highest bid ever for a player from an associate nation. Along with Mohammad Nabi, he was one of the only 2 players from Afghanistan to feature in the IPL that year.
Source: Instagram
He made his IPL debut in the first game of the 2017 edition and claimed 2 wickets to help SRH to a victory. It was the breakthrough season for the leg-spinner that put him on the world map. His leg-spin and googlies made life difficult for most batsmen and all of a sudden, there was a new star in the making.
Rashid Khan in IPL 2017
In the IPL 2017, he ended up with 17 wickets from 14 games. He was the 2nd highest wicket-taker for the franchise after Bhuvneshwar Kumar and the 6th highest overall. Rashid had an economy rate of 6.63 which shows that he was hard to get away.
In the next edition, SRH had retained David Warner and Bhuvneshwar Kumar which meant that Rashid Khan was up for grabs. When his name showed up in the auction, there was a battle amongst 4 franchises and Kings XI Punjab bought him for INR 9 crores. But SRH was in no mood to let him go as the use of an RTM card brought him back to the Orange Army.
The leg-spinner didn’t disappoint and lived up to the expectations. He took 21 wickets from 17 games and finished as the second highest wicket-taker of the league after Andrew Tye of KXIP. Throughout the tournament, he was the go-to bowler for the captain and played a pivotal role in taking his side to the playoffs.
Rashid Khan: A prominent name in other T20 leagues
After his success in IPL, he earned a huge name and every T20 league around the world wanted a piece of him. In 2017, Rashid Khan played for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League. He bagged a bid of $60,000 and then proved his money’s worth with his performance in the league.
Source: Instagram
In the same year, he was signed for the Australian Big Bash League by the franchise Adelaide Strikers. In 2018, he played in the Pakistan Super League for the franchise Quetta Gladiators. Next, he went on to play for Sussex in the Natwest T20 Blast in England.
A budding all-rounder
You might know Rashid Khan as an unplayable leg-spinner yet there is another side to his game as well. Recently, he has showcased his prowess with the bat too. He has proved to be a useful batsman down the order and a strike rate of over 100 in ODIs and T20Is is a proof of that. As of October 12, he is the No.1 ranked all-rounder in the ICC ODI Rankings.
When it comes to the bowler’s rankings, Rashid is ranked No.1 in T20Is and No.2 in ODIs. While he has shone in limited overs cricket, he would be hoping to do well in the longest format of the game. Afghanistan has featured in just 1 Test so far which came against India, Rashid bagged 2 wickets in that game.
His has been an incredible story so far in the game of cricket. For every admirer of the game, it’s always a sheer pleasure to watch him in action. Afghanistan is the team to watch out for in the future and the fate of the country is in the safe hands of Rashid Khan for more than a decade to come. Rashid Khan biography is an inspirational one and it will inspire millions of youngsters.
Rashid Khan Records
- Quickest to 100 ODI wickets (44 matches).
- Youngest to captain a country at the age of 19 years and 165 days, he captained Afghanistan during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.
- Youngest player to be ranked the No.1 ODI bowler.
- He is the youngest player to win the ICC Associate Player of the Year Award.
- Most wickets by an associate player in a year, he claimed 60 wickets in 2017.
- Most wickets by an associate player in a year in ODI cricket, he claimed 43 wickets in ODIs in 2017.
- Best T20I bowling figures by an Afghan cricketer (3/5 against Ireland).
- Earned the highest bid in the IPL as an associate nation’s player.
- First bowler to take a hat-trick in CPL.
- Quickest to 50 T20I wickets in terms of time taken since debut (2 years and 220 days).
- Second quickest to 50 T2oI wickets in terms of matches (31), only behind Ajantha Mendis of Sri Lanka.
- Youngest player to be ranked the No.1 T20I bowler.
- First bowler to take 5 wickets in just 2 overs in a T20I.
- First associate nation player to take 7 wickets in an ODI.
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