Former Afghanistan coach reckons Rashid Khan is 'playable'

Team Afghanistan has taken some serious strides in the world cricket. They are now set to play their historic first Test match this month. They have come a long way in the last couple of years. To play a Test match is their biggest achievement in the cricket field thus far. A lot of people have been a part of their successful journey. One of the bigger contributors in the same has been their former coach, Lalchand Rajput.

Lalchand Rajput, who has also acted as Indian team manager during the victorious World T20 win in 2007, recently spoke at length about the prospect of Afghanistan playing their maiden Test match. They will lock horns against a far superior Indian team in Bengaluru. Rajput reckons that the Afghanistan squad for the game is very balanced. He, however, added that the players need to show great temperament to excel in the format.

“The side is well balanced and it has got some really good spinners in Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Zadran, who could be lethal. But then, the team has not played five-day cricket in the past and that could be a challenging task for them,” Lalchand Rajput quoted.

“Test cricket is a different ball game altogether. Unlike the shorter formats, here it is very important to control emotions and stay focussed till the last day. This will be a first such outing for the Afghanistan side and it will be interesting to see how they handle the pressure,” Rajput said to Sportstarlive.

On Rashid Khan

In the build up to the game, a lot of talk is about young leggie Rashid Khan who is having a dream run in his career. Lalchand Rajput reckons that the bowler is actually playable. The batsmen just need to adjust accordingly to read him well. He cited the example of the Chennai Super Kings who played Rashid very well in the big finals of the IPL 2018.

“Rashid is very accurate with his delivery and he uses his fingers pretty well while delivering the ball. That makes him quite lethal. But if a batsman reads him well, he is playable. Chennai Super Kings took a smart decision. It played Rashid tactfully and did not allow him to find breakthroughs. That’s one formula which could work in Test cricket as well. With a bit of focus, a good batsman will be able to tackle Rashid,” the former Afghanistan coach pointed out.

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