The Spectacular Rise Of Rashid Khan

Rashid, who had recently been adjudged ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year as well, had captured 60 wickets in 2017...

- Bhavesh Bhimani

He is just 19 year of age – 7094 days to be precise – and yet the success he has managed to achieve in such little time is truly phenomenal. Afghanistan’s leg-spinner Rashid Khan has been on a spectacular rise. He already has 133 international wickets to his name and is leaving a mark wherever he plays.

It came as no surprise, hence, when Rashid recently became the No.1-ranked ODI bowler in the ICC Player Rankings (jointly with India’s Jasprit Bumrah). He is now the only teenager and the youngest man to top the ICC bowling charts. The previous youngest was Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq who was 7683 days old when in January 1998 he climbed the top of the ICC rankings.

This news comes as a cherry on the top for young Rashid Khan who has had an incredible last few seasons, and had just led his team to an emphatic 4-1 ODI series victory over Zimbabwe with 16 wickets for 127 runs, at a mind-boggling average of 7.9.

Rashid, who had recently been adjudged ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year as well, had captured 60 wickets in 2017 alone - a record for an Associate player in a calendar year. Of those wickets, 43 came in ODIs – the second-highest of the year and another record for a player from outside the Full Member countries.