NEWS FACTORY

 

Captain Rashid Khan: Talisman, identity, hope and voice of Afghanistan cricket sparkles in historic entry to World Cup semifinals

T20 World Cup 2024: It has been a tournament in which cricket’s master of disguise, Rashid Khan, took on at least half a dozen guises: talisman, calm head, voice, identity, hope and googly‑whipping spellcaster.

The most distinguishing feature of Rashid Khan’s face is his eyes. The alert, almond eyes, offset by thick and curved eyebrows, could glow with affection, sparkle with pride or reflect a vague dullness within seconds. Those eyes are a window to his mind and reflect the ebbs and flows of the match. The joy that sparked when a wicket fell, the rage that flashed when a catch was dropped, the dejection when Bangladesh batsmen hit a four, the desperation when rain lashed down and his team was behind on DLS.

He shut those eyes when Naveen-ul-Haq nailed Mustafizur Rahman in front and sealed Afghanistan’s historic entry into the World Cup semifinals. He shut his emotions to the world. Perhaps he just wanted to experience in flash what he had experienced to fully soak the hour of glory, of pure bliss. Childhood years spent in stifling fear in the saffron-rich Nangarhar province in Jalalabad; the escape to Peshawar, his falling in love with the game, his first love that was fast bowling, the reluctant embracing of leg-spin, the rapid progress, the memorable journey to stardom, and now the guiding light to his team’s most historic moment in the game.

In many ways, Afghanistan’s cricketing journey is Rashid’s journey, intertwined and inseparable. You tell his story, you are telling the story of his country’s stirring cricketing journey too. He is his country’s cricketing icon and identity, he defines his country’s cricketing ethos; he defined their World Cup dream run. His four-wicket spell set up the match, his 14 wickets captured the romance of Afghanistan dream run in the tournament. It has been a tournament in which cricket’s master of disguise took on at least half a dozen guises: talisman, calm head, voice, identity, hope and googly‑whipping spellcaster. He took wickets, and when it mattered he scored runs too. His 10-ball 19 against Bangladesh was worth its weight in gold.