Afghanistan cricket legend Rashid Khan marked his 25th birthday on September 20. In a video posted on Instagram on September 21, Khan can be observed cutting his birthday cake alongside his teammates.
During the celebration, senior all-rounder Mohammad Nabi playfully startled him by bursting a balloon from behind. Following that, Khan’s teammates playfully smeared cake all over his face.
“Sending all my love and regards for all your wishes on my birthday! Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart, it means the world to me.”
Responding to the post, Rashid Khan’s Gujarat Titans (GT) teammate Mohit Sharma expressed his sentiments with heart emojis. Regarding his professional endeavours, Khan’s most recent appearance was in the Asia Cup 2023 group stage match against Sri Lanka.
The versatile cricketer managed to claim two wickets and remained unbeaten at 27 runs. However, their team narrowly lost the match by just two runs, subsequently missing out on the opportunity to qualify for the Super 4 games.
Rashid Khan’s insights into Afghanistan’s achievements at the 2023 ODI World Cup
Rashid Khan’s performance will significantly influence Afghanistan’s outcome in the 2023 ODI World Cup. The versatile player boasts a record of 172 wickets and 1,211 runs in 94 ODIs. Drawing from his extensive experience in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he has secured 139 wickets in 109 games with an economy rate of 6.67, he aims to leverage his skills.
Afghanistan is set to engage in two warm-up matches against South Africa and Sri Lanka, scheduled for September 29 in Thiruvananthapuram and October 3 in Guwahati, as part of their preparations for the 2023 ODI World Cup. Their World Cup campaign will commence on October 7 against Bangladesh at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala.
It’s worth noting that Afghanistan faced defeats in all their matches during the previous edition of the ODI World Cup in 2019. This time, they are determined to deliver an impressive performance.
Here’s the Afghanistan World Cup squad:
Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Riaz Hassan, Rahmat Shah, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Ikram Alikhil, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abdul Rahman, Naveen-ul-Haq.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.