Afghanistan needs to play more Test cricket in order to improve, says Rashid Khan

Afghanistan’s premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan believes more Test cricket for his side will improve the overall skill-set of the country’s players in all formats of the game. Afghanistan have taken the cricketing world by surprise with the way they’ve improved in limited-overs formats, having thrashed giants Sri Lanka and tied a game against India in the recently concluded Asia Cup.

However, as far as Afghanistan’s Test journey is concerned, it has only just begun. Earlier this year, they played their inaugural Test match against hosts India in Bengaluru. But the Indians were ruthless as they raced to victory in just two days, winning the match by a massive margin of an innings and 262 runs.

Many of Afghanistan’s cricketers have been hailed as T20 sensations – the likes of Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman have bagged lucrative contracts in several franchise-based T20 leagues around the world. But Test cricket is an area the country needs to focus on while they await their next opportunity to play the longest format of the game.

More we play Tests, more our skills will improve: Rashid

Speaking to the Khaleej Times, Rashid said, “When we played our first Test against India, in the first session, we didn’t know what we were doing. It was a special occasion and maybe we were a bit overawed. But as each session went, we were getting better.”

He also pointed out that while Afghanistan are being given plenty of opportunities in limited-overs cricket, they are far from replicating that success in Test cricket.

“The more we play, our skills will improve. We haven’t played many Test matches and the more we play, there will be changes and improvement. You would get to know how to bowl on certain pitches. So, we get to learn when we play more. The youngsters can also benefit from the overseas players and coaches. It will help us as we will be playing a lot of Tests in the future,” he added.

Ireland and Afghanistan were the two newcomers in Test cricket this year, but haven’t made any appearances in the longest format since their inaugural game. The ICC has been mulling over the possibility of 4-day games to help teams like Afghanistan rise in Test cricket.

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