ICC World Cup 2019: Players to watch out for - Rashid Khan

It was indeed a historic moment for Afghanistan when they defeated Ireland to qualify for ICC World Cup 2019. The whole team was jubilant after the win, which clearly reflected through their post-match celebrations.

As Afghanistan cruise their way to their first World Cup, the captain of their ship would certainly be Rashid Khan. The leg-break bowler has been an indispensable part of the Afghan side since his international debut in 2015.

Regarded as one one of the best bowlers of the current era, Khan had no intentions to venture into the bowling aspect. He started his career as an opening batsman until his coach advised him to venture into spin bowling.

Khan has certainly not forgotten his batting skills which was evident when he smashed 34 runs in 10 balls against Kolkata Knight Riders in the second qualifier of IPL 2018.

Rashid Khan became a teenage sensation in no time and was acquired by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2017 for 4 crores. He has been associated with the franchise for three seasons now and is now an integral part of the team’s lineup.

One of his memorable IPL performances was against RCB in 2018. Khan snapped three crucial wickets of Virat Kohli, AB De Villiers and Moeen Ali, conceding 27 runs in his spell.

Khan’s forte is his efficient use of fingers to bowl the googly as his bowling action does not change much while bowling a googly. His arsenal is not limited to disguising googlies and slogging the ball in death overs.

Rashid’s one more trait is his agile fielding and his commitment on the field. His bullet catch against RCB in IPL 2018 is a prime example of his fielding endeavours.

Rashid’s expertise is not restricted to limited over cricket. He became the first Afghanistan bowler to take a five-wicket haul. Khan achieved this feat against Ireland, conceding 82 runs while scalping five wickets.

Rashid Khan grabbed all the headlines when he achieved the feat of taking seven wickets in an ODI against West Indies. Generating pace and variating his leg breaks lead to West Indies batsmen succumb against Rashid. Furthermore, he only conceded 18 runs in his spell.

Adding one more feather to his cap, Rashid became the fastest and youngest player to take 100 wickets in ODI cricket. He has already shown glimpses of Shahid Afridi due to his explosive batting and varied bowling. Currently, he has 127 ODI wickets under his belt, with an impressive economy of  3.91.

Rashid will serve the purpose of an anchor for his national side in the upcoming World Cup. Not many people would have anticipated five years ago that Afghanistan will rise to the international scene within such a short amount of time.

Afghanistan will open their campaign in the ICC World Cup 2019 against Australia on June 1.