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After President, Maybe I’m Most Popular in Afghanistan: Rashid

Afghanistan’s leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who was easily one of the best performers in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), has the key to his success has been the ability stay patient and confident even when batsmen are going after him.

As brilliant and consistent as the 19-year-old Afghan was for Sunrisers Hyderabad during the tournament, there was a moment late last week when he developed cold feet, according to the Times of India.

Asked whether he enjoys the same status that top cricketers enjoy in India, and he said, albeit a little shyly: “As far as I know, after the President of the country, maybe, I am the person who is most popular in Afghanistan.”

His magnificent all-round performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 at the Eden Gardens led to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar tweeting that Khan, at the moment, was the best T20 bowler in the world.

Khan learnt of this tweet when he boarded the team bus post Sunriser’s win and was awestruck. “When I got into the bus, a friend sent me a screenshot of the tweet and I was shocked to see it. I was thinking for like 1-2 hours before I could eventually reply. I really didn’t know what to write, but finally I replied,” Khan told Times of India.

“The whole of Afghanistan seemed to have seen that tweet. Tendulkar is very, very famous there and everyone was surprised that he had such high praise for me. Statements like these motivate young players,” he added.

Rashid ended IPL-11 with 21 wickets, finishing behind Kings XI’s Andrew Tye, who got 24 wickets for the purple cap.

According to The Times of India, Khan believes the key to his success has been the ability stay patient and confident even when batsmen are going after him. “T20s is all about enjoying yourself. The more you enjoy, the better you will perform. The moment you let fear get the better of you, you are in trouble.”

Afghanistan will make their Test debut against India in the middle of June.

“It’s a big match for us as playing Tests is a dream for every cricket-playing nation. All of us who are selected for that match will consider ourselves lucky. After all, we will be making history. And, it doesn’t get bigger than the fact that we will be playing India in India,” he added.

After President, Maybe I’m Most Popular in Afghanistan: Rashid

Rashid Khan said ‘T20s is all about enjoying yourself. The more you enjoy, the better you will perform.”

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Afghanistan’s leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who was easily one of the best performers in this year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), has the key to his success has been the ability stay patient and confident even when batsmen are going after him.

As brilliant and consistent as the 19-year-old Afghan was for Sunrisers Hyderabad during the tournament, there was a moment late last week when he developed cold feet, according to the Times of India.

Asked whether he enjoys the same status that top cricketers enjoy in India, and he said, albeit a little shyly: “As far as I know, after the President of the country, maybe, I am the person who is most popular in Afghanistan.”

His magnificent all-round performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 at the Eden Gardens led to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar tweeting that Khan, at the moment, was the best T20 bowler in the world.

Khan learnt of this tweet when he boarded the team bus post Sunriser’s win and was awestruck. “When I got into the bus, a friend sent me a screenshot of the tweet and I was shocked to see it. I was thinking for like 1-2 hours before I could eventually reply. I really didn’t know what to write, but finally I replied,” Khan told Times of India.

“The whole of Afghanistan seemed to have seen that tweet. Tendulkar is very, very famous there and everyone was surprised that he had such high praise for me. Statements like these motivate young players,” he added.

Rashid ended IPL-11 with 21 wickets, finishing behind Kings XI’s Andrew Tye, who got 24 wickets for the purple cap.

According to The Times of India, Khan believes the key to his success has been the ability stay patient and confident even when batsmen are going after him. “T20s is all about enjoying yourself. The more you enjoy, the better you will perform. The moment you let fear get the better of you, you are in trouble.”

Afghanistan will make their Test debut against India in the middle of June.

“It’s a big match for us as playing Tests is a dream for every cricket-playing nation. All of us who are selected for that match will consider ourselves lucky. After all, we will be making history. And, it doesn’t get bigger than the fact that we will be playing India in India,” he added.

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