Rashid Khan is an Afghan cricketer who represents both the Afghan national team and the Sunrisers Hyderabad team in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Rashid was born into a large family in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. He was one of 11 children in a family of eleven. He grew up in incredibly complicated circumstances, as Afghanistan was at the time engulfed in war. For a few years, his family relocated to Pakistan, where Rashid Khan developed an interest in cricket for the first time. Rashid’s family returned to Afghanistan after the crisis in the country was stabilised.Rashid resumed his studies there. Rashid is an all-rounder at the moment. In 2008, he played his first international Test match against India. It was Afghanistan’s first-ever Test match, and Rashid had an outstanding performance. Rashid became the youngest bowler to top the ‘World Cricket Council’ (ICC) one-day international (ODI) rankings in February 2018, at the age of 19.Following his outstanding results at the 2018 ‘Asia Cup,’ Rashid was also the best all-rounder in the ‘ICC’s all-rounder rankings. He became the youngest cricketer in history to lead an international team when he captained Afghanistan in the 2018 ‘World Cup Qualifier’ tournament. In 2017, he was signed by the ‘IPL’ squad ‘Sunrisers Hyderabad.’ He also played with Afghan teams including “Kabul Zwanan.”
Childhood and Adolescence
Rashid Khan was born Rashid Khan Arman in Nangarhar, Afghanistan, on September 20, 1998, into a large family. He had ten brothers when he was growing up.
He was still a child when the 9/11 attacks occurred. As a result, a war in Afghanistan was declared. Rashid’s family relocated to Pakistan as a result of the Afghan war. Rashid spent a significant portion of his youth there.
Rashid’s family returned a few years later, after the situation in Afghanistan had greatly changed, and he continued his studies. He excelled in school and consistently delivered excellent results. He aspired to be a doctor, but he was still interested in cricket.
Afghanistan had fallen under the control of the ‘Taliban,’ and athletics in the region were in bad shape. Rashid’s parents were against him playing cricket for a living. Despite these obstacles, cricket flourished in Afghanistan, and Rashid became one of the sport’s most prominent figures.
Rashid was heavily influenced by Pakistani all-rounder Shahid Afridi, and his bowling action was modelled after his. Rashid had begun playing cricket professionally by the time he was in his late teens.
Career In Internationals
When Rashid began his cricket career in Afghanistan, the game was in a very juvenile situation. In 2015, he was offered the opportunity to join the national team for the first time. On October 18, 2015, he made his ODI debut against another poor side, Zimbabwe. He also made his Twenty20 international (T20I) debut against Zimbabwe a week later.
When it came to international cricket, Afghanistan was mainly recognised as an affiliate member, which meant it was one of the poorer teams. As a result, the majority of his international matches were against lesser teams like Ireland and Zimbabwe.
Rashid was regarded as a gifted all-rounder who specialised in bowling. In March 2017, he took his first 5-wicket haul against Ireland, conceding just 3 runs. In a T20I match, this was the best result by any Afghan team. In a T20I match, it was also the joint fourth-best figure by any bowler. He also became the first player in T20I history to take five wickets in just two overs.
Rashid took six wickets in an ODI match during the same tour. Afghanistan was beginning to be regarded as a major force at the time.
The Afghan team faced the West Indies, a much better team, in June 2017. Rashid took 7 wickets for 18 runs in one of the ODI matches. He became the first player from an affiliate nation to take seven wickets in an ODI. Afghanistan surprised everyone by winning the match, and Rashid was dubbed ‘Man of the Match.’
The ‘ICC’ named Rashid the ‘Associate Cricketer of the Year’ in 2018, recognising his young talent. He was appointed Afghanistan’s captain for the 2018 ‘World Cup Qualifier’ tournament. Rashid was also named to the ‘ICC’s list of players to watch in the qualifiers.
Afghanistan qualified for Test cricket in June of this year. Their first match was against India, and Rashid was making his Test debut at the time. His success in the match, on the other hand, was abysmal.
Rashid took part in a Test match against Ireland in February 2019. He took 5 wickets in the match’s second innings. It was the first time an Afghan player has taken five wickets in an international Test match.
Rashid has played 57 One-Day International matches so far, scoring 782 runs at a strike rate of 23.69. He has four half-centuries to his name but has yet to score his first century. He has 123 wickets to his name, a 15.00 bowling average, and four 5-wicket hauls.
He’s appeared in 38 T20I matches, scoring 123 runs at a poor average of 13.66. In T20I cricket, he is yet to score a half-century. His bowling results, on the other hand, has been much better. With a bowling average of 11.56, he has 75 T20I wickets.
Rashid has been followed by both foreign and domestic clubs. In 2016, he was a member of the Bangladesh Cricket League’s ‘Comilla Victorians,’ a Bangladeshi side.
He has also played for the ‘Guyana Amazon Warriors,’ the ‘Indian Premier League’ team ‘Sunrisers Hyderabad,’ and the Australian ‘Big Bash League’ team ‘Adelaide Strikers.’
He is a member of the ‘Afghanistan Premier League’ team ‘Kabul Zwanan.’
Achievements and Records
In February 2018, Rashid Khan was ranked first in the ‘ICC Player Rankings’ for ODI bowlers. He was the first bowler to reach the top of the ranks at the age of 19. He also topped the ‘ICC Player Rankings’ for T20I bowlers in the same month.
He topped the ‘ICC’ all-rounder rankings a few months later.
He became the youngest player to ever lead an international team when he captained the Afghan team in the ‘World Cup Qualifier’ tournament in March 2018.