Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan Arman is an Afghan international cricketer and captain of the Afghanistan national team in the T20I format. In franchise leagues, he plays for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers in Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Band-e-Amir Dragons in Afghanistan’s Shpageeza Cricket League and MI New York in Major League Cricket (MLC).

Early life

He hails from Jalalabad, and has ten siblings.

When he was young, his family fled the Afghan war and lived in Pakistan for a few years. They later returned to Afghanistan, resuming their normal life with Rashid continuing his schooling.

Rashid grew up playing cricket with his brothers and idolised Pakistani all – rounder Shahid Afridi, after whom he stylised his bowling action, and South African batsman AB de Villiers.

Domestic Career:

• First – class debut: for Afghanistan against the England Lions in Abu Dhabi, taking 4 for 48 and 8 for 74, and scoring 25 not out and 52

Indian Premier League (IPL) T20 Franchise Career:

• In February 2017, he was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for the 2017 Indian Premier League (IPL) for INR 4 Crores. He was also amongst the two first ever Afghan players to be selected for the IPL.
• IPL debut in the opening fixture of the 2017 tournament, taking two wickets, as the Sunrisers Hyderabad won the match by 35 runs. He finished the tournament as the sixth – highest wicket – taker with 17 wickets from 14 matches.
• On 5 May 2018, during the 2018 Indian Premier League, Khan played in his 100th Twenty20 match.
• On 9 April 2023, during the 2023 Indian Premier League, he took a hat – trick against Kolkata Knight Riders with figures of 3 for 37, becoming the fourth player to take a hat – trick in IPL history.

International Career:

• One Day International (ODI) debut for Afghanistan against Zimbabwe on 18 October 2015.[25] He made his Twenty20 International (T20I) debut, also against Zimbabwe, on 26 October
• On 10 March 2017, Khan took his maiden T20I five – wicket haul at the second T20I against Ireland.
• His figures of five wickets for three runs is the best bowling performance by an Afghan cricket in a T20I and the joint fourth – best figures in all T20Is.
• He became the first player to take a five – wicket haul in two overs in a T20I match.
• In the ODI series against Ireland, along with Paul Stirling, they became the first pair of bowlers from different teams to each take six wickets in the same ODI.
• On 9 June, he took his second ODI five – wicket haul, finishing with figures of 7 wickets for 18 runs against the West Indies at Gros Islet. It was the fourth best ODI bowling figures and first by an associate nation cricketer to take 7 wickets.
• Test debut for Afghanistan, against India, on 14 June 2018
• On his Test debut he conceded 154 runs in the first innings of the match, becoming the first bowler to concede more than 150 runs in their inaugural Test appearance of any player’s country.
• Rashid’s figures of 2 for 154 in the first innings was also the highest number of runs conceded by a bowler in country’s inaugural Test match, beating the previous record held by Amir Elahi, who conceded 134 runs during Pakistan’s debut Test against India in 1952.
• During the Afghanistan’s inaugural test match, he along with Wafadar set a new record for becoming the first pair of teenagers to concede more than 100 runs each in nation’s inaugural Test match.
• In February 2019, he was named in Afghanistan’s Test squad for their one – off match against Ireland in India. In the second innings, he took five wickets for 82 runs, becoming the first bowler for Afghanistan to take a five – wicket haul in a Test match.
• On 1 June 2019, in Afghanistan’s opening match against Australia, Khan played in his 100th international cricket match. This included one game with a World XI side in the Hurricane Relief T20 Challenge in May 2018.
• Three days later, against Sri Lanka, Khan played in his 100th international match for Afghanistan.
• On 18 June 2019, in the match against England, Rashid bowled the most expensive spell in a Cricket World Cup match, conceding 110 runs from his nine overs.
• Rashid Khan became the first bowler for Afghanistan to take a ten – wicket haul in Tests, and was the first cricketer to score a fifty and take a ten – wicket haul in his debut match as captain in a Test match.
• On 7 November 2021, in Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup match against New Zealand, Khan took his 400th wicket in Twenty20 cricket.

Major Achievements:

• He was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan’s first Test match, against India, in June 2018. He returned the most expensive bowling figures by a debutant in a nation’s maiden Test match.
• In September 2019, he led the team in the one-off Test against Bangladesh, and at the age of 20 years and 350 days, became the youngest cricketer to captain a Test match side.
• In June 2017, he took the best bowling figures for an associate nation in a One Day International (ODI) match.
• In February 2018, he became the youngest player to top the ICC Player Rankings for bowlers in ODIs.
• Later the same month, he also topped the ICC Player Rankings for bowlers in T20Is.
• In September 2018, he became the number one player in the ICC’s all-rounder rankings, following his performance at the 2018 Asia Cup.
• In March 2018, during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, he captained Afghanistan for the first time in an ODI match.
• At the age of 19 years and 165 days, he became the youngest player to captain an international side.
• In the final of the Cricket World Cup Qualifier, against the West Indies, Khan became the fastest and youngest bowler to take 100 wickets in ODIs when he dismissed Shai Hope.
• He took 44 matches to take his 100th dismissal, breaking the previous record of 52 matches, set by Mitchell Starc of Australia.
• In June 2018, he became the fastest bowler, in terms of time, to take 50 wickets in T20Is. He reached the milestone in two years and 220 days, in the first T20I against Bangladesh.
• In April 2019, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) named Khan as the team’s new T20I captain, replacing Asghar Afghan.
• Khan was also appointed as the vice-captain of the ODI squad.
• In June 2019, during the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Khan played in his 100th international cricket match for Afghanistan.
• Following the World Cup, Khan was appointed as captain of the Afghanistan cricket team across all formats.
  However, in December 2019, the ACB reappointed Asghar Afghan as the captain of the Afghanistan cricket team across all formats.
• In the ODI series against Ireland, along with Paul Stirling, they became the first pair of bowlers from different teams to each take six wickets in the same ODI.
• On 9 June, he took his second ODI five – wicket haul, finishing with figures of 7 wickets for 18 runs against the West Indies at Gros Islet. It was the fourth best ODI bowling figures and first by an associate nation cricketer to take 7 wickets.
• In December 2020, Khan was named the ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Decade.
• In October 2021, he also became the fastest bowler, in terms of matches, to take 100 wickets in T20I cricket, in his 53rd match.
• His figures of five wickets for three runs is the best bowling performance by an Afghan cricket in a T20I and the joint fourth – best figures in all T20Is.
• He became the first player to take a five – wicket haul in two overs in a T20I match.