10 Current Cricketers and their cricketing idols

8. Rashid Khan- Shahid Afridi & Anil Kumble

Rashid Khan is one of the finest spinners in international cricket currently due to his magnificent spin bowling. So far, the 24-year-old has been amazing for Afghanistan in T20Is with 122 wickets in 74 matches, at an economy of 6.25. The Afghan bowler has stunning bowling figures in the IPL too. In 2017, Khan played his debut match in the tournament against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the opening game.

Appearing in six seasons of the cash-rich league, Khan took 112 wickets in 92 matches at an economy of 6.38. With these figures, he is one of the most successful bowlers in the league and international cricket. In 2021, Rashid spoke to ESPNCricinfo and was asked about his idols who influenced his game. Replying to the question, he said Sachin Tendulkar was his batting idol, while former spinners Anil Kumble and Shahid Afridi were his bowling idols.

He also said that he used to emulate both spinners while bowling to his brothers and also used to love watching the legends on TV. Khan added that he still watches videos of the two legendary cricketers and draws out several learnings from them. In 2019 too, Khan said in an interview that he wanted to bat like Shahid Afridi and charm the crowds the same way as Afridi did.