Rashid Khan names India, Pakistan superstars for 'dream hat-trick'; picks 28-year-old Indian among 'toughest' batters
Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan named one player each from India and Pakistan, as well as New Zealand captain Kane Williamson for his dream hat-trick.
Afghanistan's Rashid Khan is widely regarded as one of the greatest T20 spinners in the world. The leg-spinner, who currently plays for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, has been significantly consistent over the past many years in the shortest format of the game. In addition, Rashid has also captained the national team and in the 2022 edition of IPL, the 23-year-old also made his maiden captaincy appearance in the tournament, as he led the Gujarat Titans in the absence of Hardik Pandya. (Follow IPL 2022 Coverage)
Rashid has 99 wickets in the Indian Premier League and has enjoyed intense duels with some of the best batters in the world; however, on Saturday, the Afghanistan spinner named the three players who would form his “dream hat-trick.”
Rashid named one player each from India, Pakistan, and New Zealand for the same. “Virat (Kohli), Babar Azam, Kane Williamson,” said the spinner, as he replied to the question during an interview on YouTube channel 12th Khiladi.
When he was asked to name the toughest batters he has bowled to, Rashid picked three names - “Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Hardik Pandya.”
The leg-spinner has shared the dressing room with Williamson during the former's stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad over the past few years in the tournament, and has also played under his captaincy. Rashid enjoys a good record against Kohli, dismissing him once while conceding at a rate of only 5.25 against the former Indian captain, who currently plays for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL.
In the ongoing season of the Indian Premier League, Rashid Khan has been one of the key members for the Titans, having played in all of their six matches so far, taking as many wickets in the edition. In his first match as captain in the IPL, Rashid steered the side to a thrilling three-wicket win, as he made an important contribution with the bat (40 off 21 deliveries) in the 170-run chase.
The leg-spinner will return to action on Saturday when Gujarat Titans meet Kolkata Knight Riders in Mumbai.
