Cricket
How Rashid Khan became Afghanistan's king of spin
He’s the all-time leading wicket-taker in Twenty20 and one of the greatest spin bowlers of his generation. All of it has been on his terms.
Rashid Khan started out under difficult conditions. While there's a significant cricket culture in his home nation of Afghanistan, conflict and political turmoil made for a challenging environment during his upbringing.
Against the odds, however, Khan not only succeeded in becoming a professional athlete, but one of the biggest stars in the sport and an inspiration to Afghans and global cricket fans alike.
He's a regular fixture in the glitzier modern cricket competitions, such as the Indian Premier League [IPL], Australia's Big Bash League, The Hundred in the UK and South Africa's SA20, and has been playing for Afghanistan since the age of 17. He continues to fly the home flag as captain of the Twenty20 [T20] side, is a genuine spin bowling sensation and one of the greatest exponents of white-ball cricket.
Rashid Khan developed his unique bowling style on his own
© Jake Turney/Red Bull Content Pool
Remarkably, he developed his unique bowling style on his own, by putting in long hours as a child and forgoing formal coaching. . While Khan is also a renowned batsman, it's with the ball that he's become most highly regarded. His focus lies in deceiving batters with subtle movements from a flick of the fingers or wrist, rather than relying on raw pace or swing. This mastery has made him a star in the newer, faster, and shorter formats of the game.
The technique has seen him take wickets against the most celebrated opponents at some of cricket’s most famous grounds, leading him to claim the record for most wickets taken in T20 cricket (643) and the second-most in T20 internationals (161). Perhaps the biggest accolade came in 2020, however, when he was named the ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Decade in a format that's tailor-made for batters.
Along the way, he's put Afghan cricket firmly on the world map.
This is his story.
01
Putting in the hours
"Cricket was big in our house," says Rashid Khan
© Jake Turney/Red Bull Content Pool
Turning back the clock to childhood, it comes as no surprise to hear Khan say that "Cricket was big in our house," with his seven brothers – five of them older – all inspiring him to pick up a ball.
"We had a big garden where they all were playing cricket, and I was like ‘OK, I want to watch this,'" he remembers.
Unlike most pros, Khan has never had a coach. Even in childhood he was left to his own devices, developing his own unique bowling style while playing for hours with his brothers. This, he attributes to his unique and game-winning style
I had a crazy love for this game that I wanted to play cricket, cricket, cricket
It soon became apparent that Khan had a talent, with backyard games lasting up to six hours at a time. A friend invited him to play Sunday cricket and, armed with minimal gear that first session, he ended up with an injured and bleeding hand. But he was hooked.
"I had a crazy love for this game that I wanted to play cricket, cricket, cricket," he says, although a career in the sport was far from his mind. “I never thought about being someone who would play for Afghanistan,” Khan says.
He was able to keep his injury hidden, but three weeks later it was still bruised. "My mom saw it and asked what happened," he recalls. "I told her I went to play cricket and she didn't talk to me for two weeks."
Khan is a very solid player with a bat in hand
© Jack Meacher/Red Bull Content Pool
It's with a ball in hand that he's a truly phenomenal player however
© Jake Turney/Red Bull Content Pool
02
Alternate paths
Khan’s mother’s antipathy towards his beloved sport may seem strange, but he emphasises that at the time, there was no career path for a cricketer in Afghanistan and his parents' dream was for him to become a doctor.
"My dad and mom were not supportive of my cricket. We only played when they weren't around," he says. "In Afghanistan everyone studies until 10 or 12, then gets into business." But so strong was his passion for cricket that he knew he had to take a stand. "I told my mother, 'Listen, it's so difficult for me to choose being a doctor over cricket. I think I'm very good and I'm enjoying this field.'"
Finally, he had his family’s support.
03
Shifting bases
Growing up in Afghanistan during a time of conflict was obviously very challenging and, for a while, cricket took a back seat.
When he was still very young, half of Khan's family moved over the border to Pakistan. "I played little bits of cricket with friends, but that feeling you have for your own country is different," Khan says.
Khan was named the ICC Men’s T20I Player of the Decade in 2020
© Jack Meacher/Red Bull Content Pool
In the next five or six years, winning one of the ICC trophies is a big dream. That's the mindset we have, the target we have as a team and as a nation
"I was in a cricket academy in Peshawar [Pakistan], but only for a few months. I wanted to join it to see how people were doing things – it was different to see batting in the net and how these things work because I'd never seen them before. But my cricket was improved because I played a lot more.”
Finally, in his late teens, Khan moved back home, taking his new skills with him. With his parent now on his side, Khan was ready to take on the world.
04
Culture clash
At home again, his friends encouraged him to try out for the national side. He applied to the youth academy, had a brilliant first season, and made it to the Afghanistan U19s.
In October 2015, he made his debut on the full national team for T20, at the age of 17 in a One Day International in Zimbabwe. Khan flew out on his own. "I'd never flown alone," he remembers. "I wondered what would happen, because it was a long way for me, but I managed it."
He met the national team the next day and realised with shock that it had taken most of the athletes 10 or 12 years to get there, whereas he'd done it in two.
Khan first played in the colours of the Afghan national team aged just 17
© Jake Turney/Red Bull Content Pool
Of playing his first national game, Khan felt he had something to prove to the fans who thought he was good at a local level, but couldn't hack it internationally: "I was super scared before that first match. I was nervous that if I didn't do well, my cricket career would be finished. People would say 'OK, he's good at that level, but he's not good at international level, where cricket gets tougher.'"
Thankfully, the first match went amazingly well and Khan describes his bowling as some of the best he'd produced until that point. "That's where everything started," Khan says. "Soon after, I played the World Cup in 2016 in India and I was the second highest wicket taker."
I used to go with my dad to a farm and help him there in the field, doing stuff. That's something that made my body strong
05
Hard miles
Khan's career has been on an ever upward trajectory over the past decade. Not that he takes anything for granted. His entire life, he’s been working on his fitness, all with the aim of improving his cricket.
"I used to go with my dad to a farm and help him there in the field, doing stuff," he recalls of his childhood. "That's something that made my body strong."
He says the simple act of playing cricket has helped his fingers become so strong that he's able to spin the ball quicker and bowl quicker than his competitors. "It's having that natural strength and that power where you can push yourself to do it. If you bowl at 135kph and you work hard, you will get to 140 or 142, but you can't get to 150 from 135,” he says.
In terms of exercise and training, the team coach aside, Khan still has his own ideas about what his body needs. Food is a slightly different story, though.
"Nutrition-wise, it's pretty hard for me because I go all around the world and I can't find the same food everywhere,” he says. "If I go to Dubai, it's a different kind of food I'm getting in the UK and if I go to the West Indies, it's totally different again."
After years of working with top coaches, Kahn is well in tune with his body
© Jake Turney/Red Bull Content Pool
My body isn't a machine and it's something I've pushed a lot in the last eight or nine years. Now's the time for me to look after it if I want to play for a long time
Getting halal food can make things more difficult.
"Fitness-wise, I do have that mindset like 'OK, what am I going to do for this week? How am I going to look after myself? How busy is the week in terms of how many games I'm going to play? What's the amount of gym days I can have?
"Having already played a lot and worked with every trainer, and learned so much from everyone, now I can plan for myself. I think, 'This is what I need and this is what works for me.'"
06
Jetsetter
Since starting out, Khan has played in divisions and leagues all around the world, including the IPL in India, The Hundred in England, Big Bash in Australia and leagues in South Africa, the USA and the UAE, all alongside playing for Afghanistan.
It demonstrates his insatiable ambition, but as he's matured, have the constant travel and his relentless schedule prompted him to become more selective about the competitions he chooses to play in?
"Until 2024 or 2023, I played every single league and I used to go from one place to another; I wanted to get better and learn everything about playing in different countries and under different conditions. Now, I try to play three to four leagues," he explains.
Married life has made him minimise travel, as has the need to look after his body. "My body's not a machine and it's something I've pushed a lot in the last eight or nine years,” he says. “Now is the time for me to look after it if I want to play for a long time."
Work hard, play good cricket, train well and keep a positive mindset is all I can do
07
Kicking back
In his down time at home in Dubai, Khan is a pretty normal guy. He likes to cook, calling himself "an amazing chef". He even cooks during the IPL. After dinner, he checks out Netflix, particularly Prison Break, Squid Game and The Last Kingdom, which he calls, "a very good series, but very, very long."
"Winning one of the ICC trophies is going to be a big dream"
© Jack Meacher/Red Bull Content Pool
If you had to twist his arm about other sports, football would be his go-to. "I used to play a lot at school level. Now I play padel, which I enjoy. I also play EA Sports FC on the PlayStation, which is something I also enjoy," he says.
And, as per every athlete on the planet, he also likes golf: "I just try to play range shots. I really enjoy it.
08
The future
Having reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup with Afghanistan in 2024, Khan is hungry to build on his success in the near future. "In the next five or six years, winning one of the ICC trophies is going to be a big dream," he says. "That's the mindset we have, the target we have as a team and as a nation. I think the Asia Cup is going to be something big for us, too."
On a personal level, Khan knows that achieving these targets is possible with a bit of luck. But at the end of the day, Khan knows that all he can control is himself.
"Whether I win the trophy in not under my control, but putting in the effort is," he says, hinting at the same self-drive and determination he's carried with himself since childhood. "Work hard, play good cricket, train well and keep a positive mindset is all I can do."