Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan perhaps has claims to the best cricketing teenage of his times. At eighteen, he not just matured to become an indispensable ration for the Afghanistan cricket team but also flaunted an elusive contract from the cash-rich Indian Premier League, a market that prides itself on being agonizingly indifferent to the concepts of sentimentalism.

Rashid made his One-Day International debut for Afghanistan against Zimbabwe in October 2015, and rallied on to make his Twenty20 International debut against the same team later that month.

Marketing leg-spin's modern face with chic, Rashid outnumbers legbreaks with googlies, something he has perfected into a reliable and somewhat retaliatory weapon, and executes it without being ever so predictable. Having doted on Shahid Afridi's modus operandi since childhood, Rashid bowls similar lines - linear, from stump to stump - and does so at quick pace, rebelliously using his fingers more than the wrists, thus not allowing the batsman any time to shimmy out and get to the pitch of the ball. He is soon graduating into a good first-class bowler, too, evidenced by his eight-wicket match tally in Afghanistan's innings win over Ireland in the ICC Intercontinental Cup match at Greater Noida.

As much as his visible profile may belie, Rashid is an agile fielder who is well capable of putting in the dives, and then excels at clearing the big ropes in the slog overs to top it all. His growing all-round skills pave a way for him into most international sides going around, thus pitting him as someone who is readying to trail-blaze Afghanistan to better times. And from eighteen and onward, he is only going to get better. And stronger.

IPL through the years

Spin to the right. Spin to the left. Skid on straight. You are never quite sure of what Rashid Khan is gonna serve. Labelled as a legspinner, Rashid Khan has a rainbow of variations in his bowling armoury and has been the most-sought bowler, since his debut, in leagues all around the globe. Interestingly, a lot of batsmen struggle to pick his variations as Rashid Khan barely alters his arm-speed while delivering the ball. In February 2017, Rashid fetched the highest bid for any Associate nation player ever, eventually having been bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 4 crore at the same auction that abandoned world's top-ranked limited-overs bowler Imran Tahir, 38 then, red-faced with no bids whatsoever.

Rashid Khan soon became a vital cog in Sunrisers' line-up and his ability to bowl at any stage during the game made him almost indispensable in the side. A gun fielder, Rashid Khan proved his batting and catching credentials in the 2018 edition and made quite a few headlines for grabbing a one-handed stunner at the Chinnaswamy stadium in Bengaluru to dismiss Colin de Grandhomme near the boundary ropes.

What to expect in the 2019 WC?

Thy name is enough. Khan. Rashid Khan. He might not be any James Bond. But his quick arm bowling action does infuse a lot of fear in the minds of certain batters. A deadly googly to go with a ripping leggie, Rashid is someone who can turn it even on a glass top. In IPL 2019, he didn't have the best time as batters looked to play him out. But scoring against him was as usual very tough.

Down the order, Rashid also can bat. And as an outfielder, expect some moments of magic which might make it into the final highlights reel of the World Cup. An impact player, Rashid Khan in simple words is a multi-dimensional player. His combination with Mujeeb might as well turn out to be one of the talking points of the WC.

By Pratyush Sinha and Kumar Abhisekh Das