Rashid Khan becomes the new captain of the T20 squad of Afghanistan

Star leg-spinner Rashid Khan is chosen as Afghanistan’s new T20 captain, succeeding veteran Mohammad Nabi. Rashid was named captain ahead of the 2021 T20 World Cup but resigned after the roster was announced, alleging he was not informed about selection.

Official media release

In an official statement, Afghanistan Cricket Board chief Mirwais Ashraf commented, ” Rashid Khan is a massive name in Afghanistan Cricket. He has colossal experience playing the format around the world. It will help him take the team to a new level in the format.”

Rashid Khan looked much happy regarding his appointment. He commented, ” Captaincy is a huge responsibility. I have the experience of leading my country before. There is a great bunch of guys with whom I have a good understanding and feel pretty comfortable. We will try to stick together and will work hard to put things on the right track. “

Rashid Khan’s Career

Rashid has played 74 T20Is for Afghanistan and has 122 wickets to his name, making him the third-highest wicket-taker in the format behind Tim Southee (134) and Shakib Al Hassan (128). He has also played extensive cricket in different franchisee leagues, appearing in 361 T20 matches for 15 different teams across the world since 2015, and has taken 491 wickets, placing him second only to Dwayne Bravo (614) in the format.

Rashid Khan gained prominence while he played IPL for the Hyderabad-based Sunrisers Hyderabad side. His excellent bowling earned him the accolade of “Mystery spinner” in IPL. Last season he was with Gujarat Titans where he played an important role in the team’s championship journey. His explosive batting and economic bowling were of much use to the Gujarat Titans side.

Afghanistan will next face UAE in T20 international matches in February. There Afghanistan will play 3 T20Is. It will be interesting to see whether Rashid Khan can bring the desired glory to the war-torn country.

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