Rashid Khan is an Afghan cricketer who plays as a leg-spinner for the national team. He has served as the captain of the Afghanistan national team across all formats. In franchise leagues, he has represented Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Adelaide Strikers in Big Bash League (BBL) in Australia, Lahore Qalandars in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and Band-e-Amir Dragons in Afghanistan’s Shpageeza Cricket League. He holds the record for the best bowling figures for an associate nation in ODI, 7/18, which he recorded against West Indies in 2017.
Wiki/Biography
Rashid Khan Arman was born on 20 September 1998 (age 24 years; as of 2022) in Bati Kot, Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. His zodiac sign is Virgo.
Childhood picture of Rashid Khan (right) with younger brother Zaki Ullah (left)
Shortly after the US attacks on Afghanistan, which began in October 2001, Rashid fled to Peshawar, Pakistan with his family for a few years. There, Rashid and his six brothers, who all bowled leg-spin, would play cricket with a tape ball – a tennis ball covered in tape – in the street or simply in the corridor by their house. Rashid was 14 when he first played cricket with a hard ball in a game in Peshawar when his friend asked him to fill in. He never received any cricket coaching or attended an academy to train in the sport. In an interview, he said,
I never went to any academy or club. My friends used to take me to matches and I started performing regularly with both bat and ball. As far as my early training is concerned, I never went to a club or an academy and I haven’t received any coaching as well. I was completely natural and it helped me progress as a player.”
He enrolled into Islamia College, Peshawar. There, he got a chance to play for the Islamia Cricket Club. Rashid played club cricket in Peshawar, and later, he and his family returned to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, where he was invited to play club cricket. Rashid grew up idolising former Pakistani cricketer Shahid Afridi. Talking about Afridi, he said,
I was a huge fan of Shahid Afridi growing up. He was from the tribal area that stretches across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. I watched him, studied him. I loved his enthusiasm, the way he attacked the batsman. I knew that had to be my attitude if I wanted to be successful.”
Back in 2013, he was an opening batsman for his club and would bowl only one or two overs in an innings. He started bowling more seriously in 2014. Due to a lack of facilities in Jalalabad, he moved to Kabul, where his cricketing dreams took flight. He pursued a computer science degree.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 9″
Hair Colour: Black
Eye Colour: Black
Family & Caste
He belongs to a Pathan family.
Parents & Siblings
His father, who worked in a car business, died in December 2018. In June 2020, his mother passed away after a prolonged illness.
A picture of Rashid Khan’s father
He has ten siblings, six brothers and four sisters. He is the sixth child. One of his elder brother’s name is Amir Khan. His brother Raza Khan is an athlete. One of his younger brothers’ names is Zaki Ullah. One of his brothers’ names is Jalil.
Rashid Khan with his brother Zaki Ullah
Rashid Khan’s brothers, Raza Khan (left) and Zaki Ullah (right)
Rashid Khan with his brothers
Wife & Children
He is unmarried.
Religion
Rashid Khan follows Islam.
Signature/Autograph
Rashid Khan’s Autograph
Career
Domestic
He made his List A debut on 18 October 2015 against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. On 26 October 2015, he made his T20 debut against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. He made his first-class debut for Afghanistan on 7 December 2016 against England Lions at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi during the England Lions’ tour of United Arab Emirates. He plays for Band-e-Amir Dragons in Afghanistan’s Shpageeza Cricket League. Band-e-Amir Dragons won the title of the 2017 SCL defeating Mis Ainak Knights by 4 runs in the final.
Rashid Khan as a player of Band-e-Amir Dragons posing with his team after winning the 2017 SCL
International
On 18 October 2015, he made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. He made his T20I debut on 26 October 2015 against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo.
A picture of Rashid Khan bowling for Afghanistan
Khan took his maiden T20I five-wicket haul on 10 March 2017 when he scored five wickets for three runs at the second T20I against Ireland. His figures were 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. While Afghanistan won the match, Rashid and Najeeb Tarakai shared the Man of the Match award. In June 2017, he gave a record performance against West Indies in St.Lucia, where he picked up 7/18, his best haul ever in ODIs, as Afghanistan registered a stunning 63-run win. It was also the best bowling figure for an associate nation in an ODI match. With the figures, he also became the third Afghanistan bowler to take a five-wicket haul in ODIs. Khan was named Man of the Match. ICC named him the Associate Cricketer of the Year in January 2018. By February 2018, he became the youngest player to top the ICC Player Rankings for bowlers in ODIs. He also topped the ICC Player Rankings for bowlers in T20Is in the same month.
Rashid Khan playing for Afghanistan
Rashid’s impeccable performance at the 2018 Asia Cup led him to become the No.1-ranked all-rounder in one-day internationals. In March 2018, he captained Afghanistan for the first time at the age of 19 years and 165 days in an ODI match during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier, becoming the youngest player to captain an international side. Rashid became the stand-in captain after Afghanistan’s captain Asghar Stanikzai missed the start of the tournament after having his appendix removed. In the final of the tournament, Rashid Khan became the fastest and youngest bowler to take 100 wickets in ODIs when he dismissed Barbadian cricketer Shai Hope. He also took his 100th wicket in ODIs in the match. Afghanistan obtained Test status in 2017. Khan was one of the eleven cricketers to play in Afghanistan’s first-ever Test match on 14 June 2018, against India at M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. He scored 154 runs in the first innings of his Test debut, 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 a 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. In the match, Khan’s co-player Wafadar Momand also scored a century. Khan and Momand set a new record for becoming the first pair of teenagers to concede more than 100 runs each in a nation’s inaugural Test match.
Rashid Khan batting for Afghanistan
In February 2019, in the third T20I match against Ireland, he took a hat-trick, four wickets in four balls. In April 2019, Khan was named the team’s new T20I captain by the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), replacing Asghar Afghan. He became the youngest cricketer to captain a Test match side when he captained the team in the one-off Test against Bangladesh at the age of 20 years and 350 days in September 2019. In the 2019 Cricket World Cup, Rashid Khan conceded 110 runs without taking any wickets, the most expensive bowling spell in Cricket World Cup history, and the second-most expensive of all time. He also played in his 100th international cricket match for Afghanistan against Sri Lanka during the tournament. Following the World Cup, Khan was appointed as captain of the Afghanistan cricket team across all formats. In September 2019, he made a historic debut as captain when he became the first bowler for Afghanistan to take a ten-wicket haul in Tests against Bangladesh. He was the first cricketer to score a fifty and take a ten-wicket haul in his debut match as captain in a Test match. However, the ACB reappointed Asghar Afghan as the captain of the Afghanistan cricket team across all formats in December 2019. He received the ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Decade award in December 2020. During the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Rashid Khan became the fastest bowler (in terms of matches) to take 100 wickets in T20Is; he achieved the feat in 53 matches. In a match against New Zealand in the tournament, he took his 400th wicket in T20 cricket.
Indian Premier League (IPL)
He rose to prominence in 2017 when he made his maiden appearance in the IPL as a part of the Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Rashid Khan playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad
He made heads turn when he was bought by the franchise team for Rs 4 crore. He was the sixth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 17 wickets from 14 games. He again played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2018 IPL. Sunrisers Hyderabad emerged as the runner-up in the tournament after losing to Chennai Super Kings by 8 wickets in the final. In IPL 2022, Khan was the vice-captain of the Gujarat Titans team that beat Rajasthan Royals by seven wickets and won its maiden title in its very first season.
Rashid Khan playing for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2022
He was again bought by the Gujarat Titans for IPL 2023. He became the fourth player to take a hat trick in IPL history on 9 April 2023 with figures of 3 for 37 against Kolkata Knight Riders.
Caribbean Premier League (CPL)
In 2017, he was bought by Guyana Amazon Warriors for $60,000 ahead of the 2017 Caribbean Premier League (CPL). He took the first hat trick in the history of the CPL for Guyana Amazon in September 2017.
Guyana Amazon Warriors’ Rashid Khan after claiming the first hat-trick in CPL history
He was named to the Barbados Tridents squad for the 2020 CPL. On 20 August 2020, at the age of 21 years and 335 days, he became the youngest bowler to take 300 wickets in T20 cricket in a match against the St Lucia Zouks. He was also the fastest to take 300 wickets in the format, which he garnered in 213 matches.
Big Bash League (BBL)
He played for Adelaide Strikers in BBL|07, BBL|08, BBL|09, BBL|10, BBL|11, and BBL|12. In the 2017–18 Big Bash League (BBL|07), he played for the Adelaide Strikers, which went on to win the title defeating Hobart Hurricanes by 25 runs at the Adelaide Oval. He was the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 18 wickets.
Rashid Khan playing for Adelaide Strikers
He took the fifth hat trick in the history of the BBL on 8 January 2020 in a match against the Sydney Sixers during the ninth season.
Afghanistan Premier League (APL)
In September 2018, he was bought by the franchise team Kabul Zwanan for the first edition of the Afghanistan Premier League (APL). Khan emerged as the Player of the Series despite being on the losing side in the final.
Pakistan Super League (PSL)
He played for the Quetta Gladiators in the 2018 Pakistan Super League. He was a part of the Lahore Qalandars for the 2021 edition of the Pakistan Super League.
Other tournaments
He was signed by Sussex County Cricket Club in October 2017 to play in the NatWest T20 Blast in England. In October 2018, he was named to Durban Heat’s squad for the inaugural edition Mzansi Super League (MSL) tournament. In July 2019, he was selected to play for the Rotterdam Rhinos for the first edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament. However, the tournament was cancelled in the following month. In December 2021, Khan was again signed by Sussex for the 2022 T20 Blast tournament in England. In April 2022, he was bought by the Trent Rockets for the 2022 season of The Hundred.
Rashid Khan playing for Trent Rockets during the 2022 season of The Hundred
Awards
Team
- Indian Premier League Champion as a part of Gujarat Titans: 2022
Rashid Khan posing with the IPL 2022 trophy
- Shpageeza Cricket League as a part of Band-e-Amir Dragons: 2017
Individual
- Won the title of Men’s Associate Player of the Year at the 2017 ICC Awards
- Named ‘ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Decade’ 2011-2020 in December 2020
Favourites
- Bowler(s): Shahid Afridi, Anil Kumble
- Food: Afghani Rosh, Dal Makhani, Kebab
- Cuisine: Lebanese, Indian
- Holiday Destination: Maldives
Facts/Trivia
- His other name is Rashid Arman.
- In an interview, he revealed that his parents wanted him to become a doctor; therefore, they discouraged him from playing cricket. In an interview, he said,
I wasn’t allowed to play cricket as such. There were no doctors in our family that is why my parents wanted me to become a doctor. Cricket wasn’t in my initial plans and I had to struggle a lot for it. I was pretty good at studies too and I used to go for matches without telling anyone.”
- In an interview, Rashid revealed that he pursued an English learning course for a while. After completing the course, he worked as an English tutor for about 5-6 months before cricket took over.
- He spent his childhood oscillating between Afghanistan and Pakistan. He was referred to as “Peshawari” in Afghanistan’s local cricket and “muhajir” (refugee) during his college days in Peshawar, Pakistan.
- His bowling style is leg-break googly, and his batting style is right-hand bat. He grew up watching Shahid Afridi and Anil Kumble bowling, and there are signs of their influence in the speed at which Rashid bowls, which is generally in the 90 to 95 kph range —quick for a legspinner.
- Due to a Google goof-up in 2020, Anushka Sharma’s name started showing up whenever someone searched for “Rashid Khan’s wife” after Rashid spoke of Anushka Sharma as one of his favourite female actors in an Instagram Q&A. Apparently, numerous mentions of the two might have caused an error in the Google search engine.
- His jersey number for Afghanistan is #19.
- His favourite fielding positions are mid-off and mid-on.
- Apart from cricket, he is fond of playing football.
- In 2022, he launched his men’s fashion brand called RK 19. Five percent of all profits are donated to the Rashid Khans Foundation, an NGO that aims at providing healthcare, clean water, and education to orphans and impoverished children in Afghanistan.
- In 2023, Khan threatened to quit the Big Bash League after Australia pulled out of its then-upcoming series with Afghanistan over the Taliban’s treatment of women. He tweeted,
If playing vs Afghanistan is so uncomfortable for Australia then I wouldn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable with my presence in the BBL. Therefore, I will be strongly considering my future in that competition.”
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education