Rashid Khan has this rather interesting quirk during press conferences and even post-match presentations. There’s almost a pattern to it. The moment he starts one of his responses with, “I don’t have much to say,” is generally when he says the most. If anything, it’s endearing, especially when he starts off with a sheepish, almost shy, smile.
Maybe he’s just used to over-delivering. For, that’s all Rashid Khan does on the field isn’t it. He over-delivers, with bat, with ball and in the field. Along with a level of passion and intensity that you just cannot replicate. Even if it means Rashid himself struggles to keep a lid on it at times, as Karim Janat found out when he had a cricket bat flying in his direction. Or every time there is a misfield off Rashid’s bowling or even a fielder being a bit doozy while getting to a ball.
But how do you even imagine pulling up Rashid for being a bit too intense at times, when all he ever does is commit himself to every ball he bowls, bats against or fields, like his entire life and future depends on it.
There’ll always be the bigger picture conversation when it comes to this Afghanistan men’s team achieving the kinds of feats they have here in the Caribbean by qualifying for the semi-final ahead of Australia, after they’d also recorded a resounding win over New Zealand in the group stages. It’s equally important, however, to keep bringing the narrative back to just how good a cricket team they’ve become, especially in T20I cricket, and especially so with Rashid at the helm, as he has been in recent years. For, apart from a couple of forgettable encounters against the West Indies and India, Rashid’s men have been as competitive and professional as any of the other three semi-finalists.
Just look at the stats to start with. Three of the top five wicket-takers are from Afghanistan. Two of the top three run-getters for the tournament are from Afghanistan. And it’s an Afghan on top of both those lists.
Rashid is of course up there behind Fazalhaq Farooqi and Arshdeep Singh at No 3 among bowlers with the most number of scalps so far. But with him it’s always more than the numbers. What stands out is the impact that the man who can lay claim to being the most-wanted T20 cricketer in the world, has every time he’s got a ball in his hand or when his team needs it the most. Basically, the way he always over-delivers.
Like he did in the crunch match against Bangladesh, with four wickets in his first three overs, including the double strike in his third, to turn the match on its head, at a time when Bangladesh seemed to be cruising. It was his six-hitting earlier in the night that propelled Afghanistan to a total past 110, which again was what they needed in order to really push Bangladesh on a pitch that was never going to be easy to chase on.
The likes of Naveen-ul-Haq, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Fazalhaq Farooqi have been the shining lights in Afghanistan’s 2024 T20 World Cup journey ©
What his inherent energy and desperation to perform at his peak at all times has done is encouraged many of the other members of the team to follow suit. Even if Gulbadin Naib might have taken it a bit too far with his antics later that night.
Naveen-Ul-Haq is the best example of that. The new-ball bowler has been a menace for all left-handers in the powerplay and has always been an in-your-face character, both while playing for Afghanistan and even in the IPL. But what he’s done is worked on his game to an extent where his control with the new-ball and at the death is as good as any going around in this World Cup. He also showed great nerve in the end, to bowl when Litton Das seemed to be taking the game away. And his delivery to dismiss Mustafizur Rahman, trapping the No. 11 in front of his stumps, will be replayed for years to come, considering the magnitude of what it achieved.
His ball to dismiss Travis Head in the first over of Australia’s run-chase deserves equal attention, not just because of how good a start it gave his team in that vital encounter but also because of how good it was. And Naveen, who finished with four wickets himself, has been as instrumental in Afghanistan’s progress as his captain.
He’s got a bit of Rashid to him too. The way he waited for a couple of seconds before letting it rip and getting stuck into Azmatullah for being slow on the ball and allowing the second run without alarm. The way he never holds back from letting a batter know about his presence in a contest. The confidence he has with his bowling, which comes through shiningly with the way he manages his own fields.
What Naveen displays with the ball, Rahmanullah Gurbaz does with the bat. Apart from being the highest run-getter in this World Cup so far, the feisty wicket-keeper batter has been the fulcrum for his team’s batting performances, and in many ways Afghanistan have ridden largely on his exploits. The two times he’s failed to get going with the bat are the two times, his team have lost, and lost badly. Like Naveen, he too doesn’t seem to take any prisoners when it comes to going head to head against a high-profile opponent. His exchanges with Marcus Stoinis, though not too dramatic, were very symptomatic of how this Afghanistan team perceives itself in the face of their much more established challengers. Also like Naveen, Gurbaz has shown extreme maturity, gained through his stints around the T20 league world, in mastering the conditions in the Caribbean, and adjusting his game accordingly.
His tournament strike-rate of 126.01, though not eye-catching at first, is indicative of both the pitches Afghanistan have played on and his cricketing smarts in terms of understanding his team’s needs and the conditions.
There are others too, Farooqi being one of the shining lights alongside Noor Ahmad and Ibrahim Zadran.
Just like Rashid would want them to be. Be understated but then over-deliver when it matters most.
