Afghanistan, who stunned the cricketing world in the previous T20 World Cup by beating heavyweights such as New Zealand and Australia to reach the semifinals, will look to recreate that magic — and possibly go a step further — when they open their campaign against New Zealand in Chennai on Sunday. Rashid currently boasts 696 wickets in 515 T20 matches at an average of 18.49, including 18 four-wicket hauls and four five-fors, making him the leading wicket-taker in the format. At just 27, time remains firmly on his side to scale even greater heights.
Addressing the milestone during the pre-match press conference, Rashid said, “I only played 9-10 years of international cricket overall and then to be someone leading wicket taker is something more than a dream for me, T20 cricket came I do not know around 2004-05, we had players playing and played a lot, but for me to achieve that (highest wickets in T20s) was something very special, but I never counted my wickets, I only knew it in the media, ok I have reached 400, 500, 600, but I really do not think about it much, I only try my best, every single day, I have to keep performing well for the team, I have to pick up wickets, I want to bowl in a tough situation where team needs and that made me focused, but what I achieved, I still sometimes thinking like 700 wickets is not something small, getting there it needs lots of time and lots of hard work, but I am blessed and I am so, so happy that reaching that milestone and hopefully we will make it to 7,000.”
Rashid also brushed aside discussions about Afghanistan shedding their underdog tag, insisting that labels mean little compared to on-field performances.
“Sometime you perform, you become number one, when you do not perform, you become number two or number three or number ten, it all depends on what you do in the middle, you get that names, what you do in the middle and for me, we are not much believing on these things, we can be like a team to upset people, things like that, I do not really trust these things, as long you are fully committed in the ground, giving 100 per cent, you will be the best team, does not matter you lose as well, but you will still – people will see you put the effort on and you had all the efforts there in the ground and I think that is more important, but the tags you get, it is just like a media stuff,” he added.
He further noted that expectations naturally rise as teams begin beating established sides, something Afghanistan has experienced after recent victories over New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“Twelve years ago, you would not have thought that Afghanistan would reach the semi-final and even for us, just participating in the World Cup was the biggest thing, but now it is not just about participating, you have enough skills to beat the team, but as long you are very strong mentally and physically, and you put the efforts in the ground,” Rashid concluded.
