‘Afghanistan a nursery for spinners’
DEHRADUN: It’s surreal to see fans cheering for a cricketer who is not from their own national team. The crowd at the Rajiv Gandhi Stadium here have been rooting and shouting slogans in praise of Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan against Bangladesh -“Raa-shid, Raa-shid”. Such has been the 19-year-old legspinner’s impact over Afghanistan’s series win against Bangladesh.
The top-ranked T20 bowler, a role-model for youngsters of a war-torn nation like Afghanistan and a match-winner, Rashid Khan has seen it all. With 43 ODIs and 32 T20s under his belt, Rashid talks about his thoughts on the craze he garners back home, on the historical Test match against India and how prepared are the Afghanistan batsmen to face Indian spinners in Bengaluru.
Excerpts: What is it with Afghanistan producing worldclass spinners?
Like India is known to produce world-class batsmen and England, Australia and Pakistan for churning out top-class seamers, Afghanistan has become a nursery for producing spinners. We have got fantastic off-spinners, leg-spinners and left-arm chinaman in the domestic cricket. I think it has a lot to do with natural talent we have. Also, the conditions and the wickets in Afghanistan are conducive to spin. Youngsters fancy turning the ball with good use of their fingers.
Do you realize that you have become a craze in Afghanistan and the cricketers all over the world are talking about your spin bowling ?
The response back home has been overwhelming. I have got so much love in India. My life has changed in the last two years. I never even dreamt that I would be playing for my country, top T20 leagues and bowling at top-batsmen of the world this early. But it looks like dreams do come true. Life is all about unexpected turn of events. I have tried to remain focused, believe in my skills and give my best. God has been kind. My family and friends are very proud of my achievements.
It must have quite a learning experience having Sri Lankan spin legend Mutthiah Muralitharan as the bowling coach for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL. How did he elevate your performance?
He is living legend and I grew up watching him rattle batsmen. Whenever I would go to Murali sir during nets, he would tell me that I had been bowling superbly and he doesn’t need to tell me anything. Once he said that I was bowling with much more effect than he ever had in his career. He also said that the skills I have at this age are higher than his. So, that was a big compliment. He always told me to enjoy cricket and have a belief in my bowling skills.
Afghanistan are on the cusp of making history when they take on India in a Test match in Bengaluru. How do you assess your form ahead of the match?
It is going to be a great contest. It is going to be a big match for Afghanistan taking on a top team like India. I might have done well in T20 and ODI cricket but Test cricket will be new for me. I am looking forward to test myself in the longer format and bowl according to situations, and execute the plans session-wise-session. I don’t need to do anything special and bowl in the right areas. Playing Bangladesh has given us impetus ahead of the Bengaluru Test.
The Indian team also has a spin-heavy attack with Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in the ranks. How prepared are the Afghanistan batsmen for this challenge?
Our batsmen have been playing well in the last six months. Asians are generally good while facing spinners that too in the sub-continent. They have been training with spinners like Mohammed Nabi, Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman, Zahir Khan and me with total dedication. We can try to give our best without thinking about the result.
› The conditions and the wickets in Afghanistan are conducive to spin. We fancy turning the ball.