Afghanistan's Rashid Khan sets his eyes on winning World Cup, says its his target

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan reckoned that the Afghan National Team has the potential to win the World Cup going into the future. In the last 12 years, Afghanistan cricket has come up the ranks in a big way. After they got the ODI status in 2009, the ICC gave them Test status in 2017. Recently, they made a direct qualification for the T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

In the 2015 50-over World Cup, the Afghans scripted history as they beat Scotland in a Group game. The BCCI has also lent its helping hand and provided Afghanistan with a number of cricket venues in India. The 23-year-old Rashid, also the leading wicket-taker for his country with 267 scalps from 129 matches, talked about his team’s meteoric rise over the last decade.

“We have achieved a lot over the last 10 years as a team. Where we came from, where we had no facilities, we came from that stage and we’ve played lots of World Cups. It’s a dream of every country to be called a Test team and we’ve got that as well; we’ve played Test games. We have achieved a lot," Khan was quoted as saying.

'I’m pretty sure we’re going to achieve that target,' feels Rashid Khan

Having taken part in a number of ICC events, Rashid has set his goals clear and now wants Afghanistan to get their hands on the World Cup trophy. He added, “We have that target in the future that one day we have the ability to win the World Cup, especially the T20 World Cup. That’s the focus of everyone back home. That’s the dream of everyone, that’s the target of every player and we are capable of achieving that target. We have that belief in our skills and ourselves, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to achieve that target in the future.”

Rashid started his career in 2015 as a teenager and is currently one of the most lethal spinners in world cricket. Earlier this year, he was also crowned the ICC Men's T20I Player of the Decade. The Nangarhar-born is currently in UAE for the 2021 Indian Premier League where he’s playing for the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Thereafter he’ll take part in the T20 World Cup, starting October 17.

(Image: AP)