Rashid Khan sets eyes on T20 World Cup despite recent disappointment

Afghanistan’s newly elected captain Rashid Khan stressed on fitness and preparation as two key areas that need to be worked on, following the Afghans disappointing World Cup campaign.

Their winless exit was a reminder that the Afghans had major room for improvement, although they had come very close to defeating India and Pakistan.

Their performance was considerably worse as their 50-over Asia Cup performance last year saw a defeated Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, a tie with India and a close but not-close-enough loss against Pakistan.

Reflecting on their underwhelming campaign, Rashid said that they needed greater preparation on their mental and physical strength.

Speaking to ESPN, the captain said, “From here, we have to take steps.

“We have seen the World Cup, we have seen the oppositions and what should be the proper preparation for them, and we have to be very strong mentally. We have to be fully fit for such competitions and we have to be well-prepared. We are not playing with Associate teams right now, we are playing with the Full Members, so we have to be well-planned and prepared.

“The most important thing is fitness, we have to be very fit. These are the things we need to improve on in upcoming years to be a better side, a side that can beat any team. We have the talent, we have the skills. We just need to bring improvement in that.”

While physical skills are one to look out for, the captain stressed on the mental aspect of international cricket.

“You need to have worked on your skills, not that when you come to the national side you start working on it,” Rashid said. “Once you come to the national side, you have to work on the mental aspect [more]. And being a youngster, you should always believe in yourself and work hard. Then you can achieve anything.”

Although the next World Cup, in 2023 in India is 4 years away, the captain recognizes the challenge to bring put up a worthy performance. But for the time being, Rashid has his eyes set on next year’s ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

“That [2023 World Cup] is something that is a very big challenge for us. As I said, we have the skills and talent, but we need to improve. We need to know how to play against the big teams and what should be the proper preparation against them,” Rashid said.

“As we saw, we were struggling in this World Cup. [But] I think the 2023 World Cup, it's a little bit far. The focus and target right now is the T20 World Cup in Australia. We will show how we are better, and show how we can do better compared to the last World Cup. We just need to keep improving and bringing down the number of mistakes we have done in the past. In T20s, especially, we have the ability and we have the best team [that we can have].

“And for 2023, we should know that from hereon, there should be proper preparation for 50 overs. The more we play against the top teams, the better we will be. So looking forward to more games and series with the big teams."

The 20-year-old was appointed as captain for all three formats after their World Cup failure. He was already captaining the shortest format and his call for the role came to him as no surprise according to the leg spinner. 

“I wasn't quite surprised. I was already the vice-captain, which means you are the upcoming captain. Mentally, I was ready for it,” he said. “Yes, it happened very quickly, but when it comes to the national team, when it comes to the country, you always have to be ready to lead. I'll try my best to lead as well as possible.”