08-Feb-2025, 01:12 PM
Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan, who currently plays for MI Cape Town in SA20, has expressed his ambition to reach 1,000 T20 wickets and has identified his best T20 spells. Khan recently surpassed Dwayne Bravo to become the leading wicket-taker in T20s with 633 wickets.
Aiming for 1,000 T20 Wickets:
Rashid Khan, at 26 years old, is optimistic about achieving the 1,000-wicket milestone, believing he can secure the 368 additional wickets needed within “maximum four years,” assuming he maintains his fitness.
He stated that becoming the leading wicket-taker in T20s gives him “incredible satisfaction”. He never thought that he would play T20 Internationals and leagues around the world.
Top T20 Spells:
Rashid Khan identified three of his top spells in T20 cricket.
T20 World Cup 2024 vs. Bangladesh: He took 4 wickets for 23 runs while defending a low score of 115, helping Afghanistan reach the semi-finals for the first time. He felt this spell was particularly significant due to the pressure of defending a small total.
IPL 2018 Qualifier 2 vs. KKR: Rashid Khan had a spell where he took 3 wickets for 19 runs, which he felt changed the game.
Big Bash League vs. Adelaide Strikers: He claimed 6 wickets for 17 runs. He noted that bowling in Australia is particularly challenging.
Other Key Points:
Khan also considers Afghanistan’s journey to the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup as one of the most significant moments of his career.
He narrowly missed surpassing Tim Southee as the highest wicket-taker in T20Is during the Zimbabwe series, taking nine wickets. He hopes to achieve this milestone in the Asia Cup later in 2025.
Rashid Khan was drafted into the Gujarat Titans squad for INR 15 crore ahead of the IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
