Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan has revealed that he was removed as T20I captain without his knowledge, and he got to know about the board’s decision only after the team was announced and he wasn’t named skipper.
Interestingly, Rashid was replaced as captain by opener Ibrahim Zadran after Afghanistan suffered a group stage exit from the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign. However, Ibrahim also suffered a 0-3 T20I series defeat to India recently.
“Even I don’t know what exactly happened at that time. I came to know [about the captaincy change] when the board announced it,” Rashid said to Cricinfo.
“Under my captaincy, we reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals; we beat West Indies, but sometimes things aren’t in your control. But I have moved on now. Whether I am captain or not, I am proud that I am representing Afghanistan and I am trying to put to use whatever skills and capabilities I have,” Rashid added.
“What I can control is to do well for Afghanistan and make them win,” he noted.
Rashid led Afghanistan in 48 T20Is, winning 26 and losing 22. In the most recent three-match T20I series against India, Rashid claimed four wickets in the series, conceding 113 runs at an economy rate of 9.82. Afghanistan had a positive record under Rashid, including reaching the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-finals.
“I think the most important thing for us is to believe in ourselves and believe that we can beat India. We have lost to them so many times that our players also have it in their minds that we have never beaten them and have always struggled against them,” Rashid concluded.
