Rashid Khan at the forefront as Gujarat Titans usher in a new era in IPL 2022

It was just before the start of IPL 10 in 2017 when I had a meeting with David Warner in Hyderabad. Captain of the Sunrisers Hyderabad then, Warner was excited about the season and singled out one individual to me.

“Watch out for Rashid Khan from Afghanistan. He has serious talent and will create trouble for most batsmen in the tournament,” Warner had said.

I had not heard of Rashid Khan much till then and the first initiation was followed by a sense of excitement when I watched him bowl. A real quick arm action for a leg spinner, here was someone who could well emerge as the first Afghan cricketing superstar. Five years down the line, he indeed has and has now been appointed the vice-captain of the Gujarat Titans for IPL 2022.

Speak to him and he has hardly changed in the last five years.

“It feels good to be able to perform for my team, whichever part of the world I am playing in. And like I have always said the IPL is special. In the IPL you are always up against the best in the world. There is no occasion when you can get away by not giving your best. Each player is trying to outdo the other and as a result the standard of competitiveness in the IPL is the highest. People in Afghanistan watch every game we play and each good performance makes a big difference to my people back home”, says Rashid.

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"Whole world knows what we have gone through" - Rashid Khan on Afghanistan cricketers

Ask him what impact he has had on the Afghan people and you will fail to miss a glint in his eye. Interestingly enough, I had asked him the same question in 2017 and the answer was literally the same. It's just that now it is much more emphatic.

“The whole world knows what we have gone through. But with the IPL, it is no longer about resources. Even if you don’t have any resources you want to take to the sport and do well. You see someone like me or Nabi and you believe it can be done."

"The number of people who now play the sport is what I would say the biggest contribution of the IPL is. They know that if they play well the IPL is a platform they can aspire to playing in. This year we have Gurbaz and Noor and the number will only grow”, says Rashid.

Is Rashid a kind of Jackie Robinson then? Can he do what Robinson did in the United States in the 1940s? Was breaking the colour line any more than battling an insurgency and making a mark in a global sporting world? By doing what he has, Rashid has not only enhanced his own reputation but has also catapulted Afghanistan to the forefront of world cricketing consciousness. 2022 will only add to his achievements.