T20 World Cup 2024: Rashid has been captain of the tournament, says former Afghanistan skipper Asghar

Afghanistan on Tuesday scripted history by qualifying for its maiden T20 World Cup semifinal with a win over Bangladesh, and also outwitted Australia in the Super Eight stage.

Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan with teammates. | Photo Credit: PTI

Former skipper Ashgar Afghan on Wednesday hailed Rashid Khan as the ‘captain of the tournament’ and attributed Afghanistan’s unprecedented success in the ongoing T20 World Cup to the players exposure to difficult wickets in international cricket and leagues around the globe.

Afghanistan on Tuesday scripted history by qualifying for its maiden T20 World Cup semifinal with a win over Bangladesh. The players from the strife-torn nation have been sensational as they also defeated New Zealand in the group stage and then outwitted Australia in the Super Eight stage.

“I feel Rashid has been the captain of the tournament. He has led by example. He has been an inspirational captain, a match-winner with the ball, and very effective with the bat,” Ashgar, who won 42 of the 52 T20Is that Afghanistan competed under his leadership, told PTI.

“Most importantly, he has been able to get the best out of his players. And this has been one of the major reason of Afghanistan reaching the semis. When I was captain of the Afghan team in 2017, he was the vice-captain and he showed leadership skills then as well.”

Afghanistan will take on South Africa in the first semifinal in Tarouba, Trinidad on Thursday.

“If you ask me, what has been the number one reason (behind Afghanistan’s success), I would say this team’s exposure to international cricket and T20 Leagues all over the world throughout the year,” he said.

“They have been playing in very difficult wickets and that have given them the knowledge, experience and technical know-how to deal with tough wickets in the USA and the Caribbean.”

Asghar, who captained Afghanistan in its inaugural Test against India in 2018 and first Test victory against Ireland in 2019, heaped praises on the opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran for playing a pivotal role in Afghan’s success in the tournament.

“They are the most successful opening pair of the tournament scoring maximum number of runs. While Gurbaz is the leading run-scorer, Zadran is at number 3 (in the list).

“Moreover, they always gave Afghanistan a rollicking start to help the team post a formidable total or chase down stiff targets,” he observed.

Three Afghan bowlers are placed in the top five wicket-taker’s list with pacer Fazalhaq Farooqi leading the chart with 17 wickets. Rashid Khan is at three with 15 wickets, while Naveen-ul-Haq is in fifth with 13 wickets.

“Farooqi, Naveen, and Rashid have taken 45 wickets combined. This is amazing. Afghans are dominating the batting and bowling charts. They are getting crucial wickets at crucial times and have been game-changers.

“Even Noor Ahmad has been a phenomenon. This team is looking very dangerous and has the potential to pull up more victories and stun the world,” he signed off.