 "Rashid Khan looks on during Afghanistan's Asia Cup Group B clash against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi. AFP")
Afghanistan are among the most improved teams in international cricket over the last decade-and-a-half, from competing against Associate nations in the lower leagues to defeating top sides such as England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the 2023 ICC World Cup and reaching the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
The Afghans had also defeated England in the Champions Trophy earlier this year, because of which some sections of the press labelled them as the “second-best Asian side”. When asked for his opinion on the tag, captain Rashid Khan felt that his team never asked for the tag, but earned it through their performances.
‘People take things and twist them into something else’
“There is one thing that always goes around in the media-people calling us the second-best Asian team. We didn’t say that, but I think we earned that tag through our performances. If you look at the Asia Cup, the World Cup semifinal, the ODI World Cup-we have beaten big teams,” the star leg-spinner told the press ahead of the T20I series against Bangladesh, which got underway on Thursday.
“In the Champions Trophy, we beat England. That’s why we got the tag. In the future, if we don’t perform well, we will definitely drop to number three, four, five, or six. I feel we haven’t given ourselves that tag.
“We are always trying our best to become a better team and to perform well on the day. Sometimes you do well, sometimes you don’t. That’s part of the game. But your mindset should always be positive, with the hunger to perform. Sometimes people take things and twist them into something else, and then others start making fun of it. I feel like nowadays, the more you make fun of someone, the more people like you. And it’s reaching a different level-and it doesn’t look nice,” he added.
‘Second-best Asian side’ tag under spotlight after Asia Cup disappointment
Rashid’s comment comes after a disappointing Asia Cup campaign, where the Afghans began their campaign with a 94-run thrashing of Hong Kong , but failed to reach the Super 4s after suffering a narrow 8-run defeat at the hands of Bangladesh, which was followed by a six-wicket loss in a must-win clash against Sri Lanka .
Bangladesh defeated Afghanistan for the second time in as many meetings on Thursday, chasing down the 152-run target with four wickets and eight deliveries to spare in Sharjah to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.