By 
Afghanistan leg-spin all-rounder Rashid Khan has been appointed on Thursday as the new captain of Afghanistan for the T20I format. Rashid replaces senior off-spin all-rounder Mohammad Nabi, who stepped down from the role post the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia.
“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, will work hard to put things on the right track and bring pride and joy to our country and nation,” said Rashid in an official statement by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).
This will be Rashid’s second stint as Afghanistan’s T20I captain after he had quit as captain of the side shortly after the squad for T20 World Cup 2021 was announced, being at the helm for only two months.
Rashid’s first assignment will be the tour of UAE in February next year, where Afghanistan will play three T20Is.
Grateful for this opportunity 🇦🇫🙏
Thank you to all my supporters, well wishers and loved ones ❤️
Ready to take on the big responsibility and an even bigger challenge 💪 pic.twitter.com/2rOSE5Asjp
— Rashid Khan (@rashidkhan_19) December 29, 2022
“Rashid Khan is a massive name in Afghanistan Cricket. He has colossal experience of playing the format around the world which will help him take the team to a new level in the format.
“Rashid Khan has the experience of leading AfghanAtalan in all three formats before and we are happy to have him as our skipper for the T20I format again. I am sure he will come out on top and will bring more glories to the nation,” said Mirwais Ashraf, the ACB Chairman.
Earlier, Rashid led Afghanistan in T20Is for three months between September and November 2019, recording four wins in seven matches. Overall, Afghanistan have won seven out of 16 matches across formats under his leadership.
24-year-old Rashid has so far represented Afghanistan in 74 T20I matches and has taken 122 wickets to his name, which makes him the third leading wicket-taker in the T20I format behind New Zealand pacer Tim Southee (134) and Bangladesh left-arm spinner Shakib Al Hassan (128).
He has also been in very high demand in franchise cricket, playing 361 T20 matches for 15 different teams around the globe from 2015 onwards and has taken a mammoth 491 wickets which makes him the second-best bowler behind Dwayne Bravo (614) with the most wickets in the format.
Afghanistan is set to tour UAE in February 2023 where they will take on the hosts in three T20Is, which will be Rashid’s first tour as Afghanistan’s skipper in the shortest format after 2019. Rashid will also be captaining MI Cape Town in the inaugural SA20 league in January 2023.
Comments