Not Winning The World Cup, This Is Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan’s Ultimate Dream | Cricket News

Afghanistan’s cricket icon Rashid Khan has captivated fans worldwide with his mastery of leg-spin, becoming a dominant force in T20 cricket for both his country and various franchise leagues. Despite his widespread acclaim, the 25-year-old deeply misses the experience of playing international cricket in his homeland, where he is celebrated as a national hero. 

Notably, The Afghanistan men’s cricket team does play in Afghanistan, but they also play many of their “home” matches in other countries like the UAE and India due to security concerns and lack of suitable facilities within Afghanistan. The ongoing political instability and security situation in Afghanistan makes it difficult to host international matches within the country and thus Rashid wants to play in front of his home crowd.

According to the Future Tours Program, West Indies and New Zealand are scheduled to tour Afghanistan early next year , a potential landmark moment for cricket in the war-torn nation. However, Rashid remains cautiously optimistic because many top teams have historically been reluctant to visit Afghanistan due to security concerns.

Speaking to The National during a Dubai event, Rashid shared his thoughts on the uncertain fate of matches being played in Afghanistan. “That’s in FTP for now. But when the time comes, it’s only then you will know whether it’s happening. There have been so many games scheduled in Afghanistan… but have never taken place. But hopefully it happens. It’s good for cricket and good for Afghanistan,” he said.

Beyond the scheduling uncertainty, Rashid opened up about his personal longing to play before his home crowd since the turmoil that followed the Taliban’s takeover. “Well, if it eventually happens, that will be a kind of dream to play international cricket in Afghanistan. I hope that comes before I retire from the sport. That’s something which I dream of playing in front of my home crowd. So, hopefully, that happens in the future,” he added.

AfG HomeComing

Currently, international cricket remains absent from Afghanistan because of political instability and restrictions on women’s cricket imposed by the Taliban regime. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is gearing up for a T20 series in Pakistan ahead of the Asia Cup in September, which will likely be held in the UAE, a location where Afghanistan has a “destination support” agreement. Rashid Khan has played a total of 216 international matches across all formats. This includes 6 Tests, 114 ODIs, and 96 T20Is.