RashidKhan

Afghan sensation Rashid Khan is a rare breed of cricketers who excels in whatever he does on the field. The leg spinner, who has reinvented the art in a modern way, Rashid is quicker through the air and hardly gives the batsmen time to adjust to his length. He is perhaps the only leg spinner who is more of a finger spinner than a wrist spinner. 

Despite leg-spin being predominantly called wrist spin, Rashid has his own way of doing things. He uses his fingers to get the refs on the ball and his skiddy nature tends to hurry the batsmen. 

As a teenager, when he first burst onto the scene, Rashid Khan graduated into a match-winner for Afghanistan.

Most of the top-class batters have found it difficult against his pace and trajectory. Making his debut for Afghanistan in ODI’s and T20I’s back in 2015, Rashid soon became an integral part of the unit and graduated into an indomitable force in world cricket. 

Despite being a leg spinner, Rashid relies more on his googlies with his leg-breaks being the stock delivery. He creates a zip from the surface owing to his action and despite making googly his main weapon, Rashid bowls it without being much predictable which is a clear sign of his greatness as a bowler. 

To back his exceptional bowling, Rashid is a livewire on the field and is a very safe catcher. He is a lusty striker of the ball and it has been on display quite a few times in the T20 leagues all across the globe. He is one of the most sought-after foreign cricketers in the domestic T20 Leagues. He plays for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and has already become an indispensable part of the unit since 2017. 

The Sunrisers Hyderabad acquired his services for INR 4 crores in the 2017 auctions as he became the most expensive associate nation signing in the IPL. He made an immediate impact in his maiden season and went onto prove his all-round credentials in the 2018 edition when he impressed with both bat and ball and also in the field. People went gaga over a boundary line one-handed stunner from Rashid Khan to dismiss Colin de Grandhomme. 

A career-spanning for 5 years, Rashid has already achieved a lot in his career. He is at the top of the bowling charts in the latest ICC T20I rankings having ruled for more than a year. His record in the limited-overs format is something that very few can boast of. With an average of less than 13 in the T20I format, Rashid might well finish his career as the greatest T20 bowler ever. 133 wickets in 78 ODI matches and 89 wickets in 49 T20Is at stunning averages proved the worth of this player. After impressing in the limited-overs format, Rashid finally got the chance to excel in the longest format when Afghanistan made their Test debut against India in 2018. He was left hapless by the Indian batters as they thrashed him all around the park. 

However, he made a stunning comeback in the ICC intercontinental match against Ireland when he made a match-winning performance in Afghanistan’s first Test victory. It was his all-round exploits that yet again helped Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in a Test match in their own den. It was a big achievement as far as Afghanistan as a Test nation was concerned. Beating Bangladesh who made their Test debut in 2000 was a special achievement and yet Rashid was in the thick of things. 

In April 2019, Rashid was added to Afghanistan’s squad for the 2019 ICC World Cup and was named as one of the most exciting talents playing his debut in the World Cup. In a group match against England, Rashid conceded 110 runs in 9 overs making it the most expensive spell in the Cricket World Cup history. On the back of a disappointing World Cup, Rashid was appointed as the captain in all three formats of the new Afghanistan. Rashid proved his effectiveness in the first test as a captain against Bangladesh. Afghanistan defeated Bangladesh in a historic victory by 224 runs.

The highest point in Rashid’s career came when he won the ICC T20 Cricketer of the decade in November 2019. Returning back to Dubai for the 2020 IPL, Rashid proved once again as one of the most consistent bowlers in the IPL history rattling 20 wickets in 16 matches, and he will have to play a vital role once again for the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the upcoming IPL. Becoming a successful professional cricketer from a nation with no previous cricketing infrastructure, Khan created a path for others to do likewise.

(As of March 2021)