Afghanistan sensation Rashid Khan grabs the ICC Associate Cricketer of the Year

Afghanistan Cricket is on the rise at the moment. Last year the side received the status of full member cricketing country. The news was doubled up when the Board of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) announced that they will be hosting Afghanistan for their first ever Test match in Bangalore against India.

Now, their star spinner, 19-year-old Rashid Khan has been named as the Associate Cricketer of the Year which will surely boost the confidence of the side going ahead in their journey in the world cricket. Rashid Khan had picked 60 wickets last year in both the ODIs and T20Is for his side. In the T20Is, Khan picked 17 wickets in just 10 games with an impressive average of just over 9. In the 50-over cricket, Khan bamboozled as many as 43 players with an average around 10.

Rashid Khan’s Unbelievable performances

Khan, the mystery leg-spinner has already picked 112 wickets for his side. His googlies are unplayable and he showed his skills during a game against West Indies last year in June when he picked 7 wickets for just 18 runs. Earlier he had put the Irish batters to task when he ripped them apart with the ball in his hand. In the T20 against Ireland, he sent 5 batsmen back to the pavilion and gave away just 3 runs. During the same opposition, in the ODIs, he claimed a six-fer helping the side go past them.

Khan is a handy batsman at the lower order. His average of 22.45 in the ODIs proves the same. He has 2 half-centuries to his name batting lower down the order. In T20s, the leg-spinner averages 20 where his strike rate of 135 is very impressive.

Rashid Khan has been a hot property around the globe for the T20 tournaments. Currently playing for the side Adelaide Striker, Khan has impressed one and all with his performance in the Big Bash League. He has already made his name in India’s domestic T20 league Indian Premier League.

The star player was challenged by team-mate Mohammad Shahzad, Ireland captain William Porterfield and Scotland’s Kyle Coetzer in the race of the award, eventually grabbing it.

With the side set to play their first ever Test match, the spinner will be hoping for a good showdown in their maiden appearance in whites against India later in the year.