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Cricket PlayersRashid Khan interview: 'I want winning the World Cup to be my legacy'
The leg-spinner has spent more than twice as long at the top of the ICC T20 bowler rankings as anyone else
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Rashid Khan returned to the top of the T20I bowling rankings on Wednesday, extending his stunning hold over the format. It is the eighth time the Afghanistan leg-spinner has reached No. 1 — and he has spent more than twice as long at the top as anyone else. He is also the current No. 1 ODI bowler.
Rashid spoke to Hindustan Times last month during the Friendship Cup match between Afghanistan and India at the Arun Jaitley Stadium about his white-ball plans, his ambitions and more:
Around a decade ago, Afghanistan was in a different place. Now, with you, the team has also evolved. How do you feel about the team and has that changed you as a person?
Since I debuted in October 2015, I think the first time we beat an opponent in a series was Zimbabwe. We had never beaten them before. It was a good start.
Since then, our team has changed and our mindset has changed. Now the belief is that we can beat them because at that time, it was very difficult for us to beat Zimbabwe, Ireland, Bangladesh but that's where it started and then in the ICC World Cup, when we beat the 2016 World Cup champions – West Indies. We were the only team to beat them at the World Cup. It was a good journey, looking at it all, from 2015 to now, to see where our cricket has reached. It is an unbelievable journey and we beat big teams like England, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, all the teams.
We haven't beaten India yet but we will try to. It was a difficult journey but throughout the last decade I was with the team, I am happy that it went towards betterment. We will try to continue this and take it to the next level.
You've grown up with the Afghanistan team and watched its rise. Do you and Mohammad Nabi ever sit down and look back at the days and discuss it?
Of course. We sometimes sit together in the evening, sip green tea and eat our dry fruits and discuss this. We ask Nabi about his early career, how it was in 2003-04, what the environment was like. It automatically becomes motivation for you… remembering how difficult it was for them to play cricket in such tough conditions. Then you work even harder.
When we came, we also saw tough times, we tried to improve Afghanistan cricket and improve it and perform well. We tried to perform well, defeat big teams. We definitely discuss this with youngsters. They understand how Afghanistan cricket has come from one place and how difficult it was.
One question that you probably get asked a lot… from journalists, physiotherapists, doctors… how is your back now?
By the grace of God, it is fine now. I am very happy. The back issue that was coming up earlier, I don't have that complaint now. I don't remember when I visited the physiotherapist in the last three or four months. Earlier, I spent less time in my room and more in the physiotherapist's room. So, I had a different kind of mindset but now, I am fine.
When the doctor told you that you must reduce your focus on red-ball cricket to save your career, you still bowled 67 overs in a match…
That’s what messed my back further… I like to play Test cricket. I like to bowl in long spells but the problem is that I bowl a lot of overs. If I am in a Test match, I want to bowl long spells, I am not satisfied with just 15-20 overs. If I bowl, I will bowl a lot of overs in both innings and try to get a victory. You win a Test match only when you get 20 wickets. To get 20 wickets, you need to bowl more overs. Hopefully, this issue will be fixed and I can represent Afghanistan in red-ball cricket soon.
If you have decided to prioritise your back, it will be difficult…
Sometimes you have to sacrifice things you love. I love Test cricket but if I want to represent Afghanistan, I might have to give it up if my back does not allow me. If I play too much, I will neither be able to play white-ball cricket nor red-ball cricket. Red-ball cricket has only one or two matches a year. That's why I had taken some rest. Hopefully, I will recover and play Test matches.
You have achieved almost everything individually that a bowler wants… being the No 1 bowler, taken Afghanistan through a very different journey. What is one thing you want in your legacy?
Winning the World Cup.
I have my personal achievements, the 700 wickets in T20, being player of the decade for four years. That was a big achievement for me. But the big achievement that I want to have in my record is winning the World Cup.
We were close in the 2024 World Cup, we went to the semi-final. But that is one thing that is always in my mind – that I win the World Cup for Afghanistan.
There is a lot of data and analysis in teams now. There was a phase when batters almost predicted your bowling. What do you have to do to evolve?
Everyone eventually finds out what a bowler does, what his planning is, how he bowls. But still, a bowler wins. If an off-spinner comes, everyone knows that an off-spinner bowls an off-spin, yet people end up giving wickets. Because he probably bowls in good areas. That's when he becomes handy.
I believe no matter how much analysis is done, your planning has to be simple. There's no magic. I can’t instruct the ball to move here or there. But when you bring consistency, bowling in one area repeatedly, then the batters will also find it difficult.
You have to bowl in good areas in cricket, you have to bowl to the weakness of the batter relentlessly, only then will you get success.
You visited Red Bull’s Athletic Performance Centre in Salzburg last year. What was your experience there?
My experience was amazing. The high-performance centre of Red Bull in Austria. I wanted to go and assess my back, see my strength because I did a full-body test there… where is the weakness and where can I improve. That really gave me a better idea, by discussing with the physio and everyone, and the next day they gave me areas that I could improve. They helped me a lot, and I got a good idea about my body.
