Meet the 'to be' youngest captain in International cricket history

At the age of 19 years, Rashid Khan conquered the top spots in the bowling rankings of the Test and ODI formats to become the youngest player to top any form of ICC Rankings for Men’s Cricket. The leg-spinner turned out as one of the most wanted players among the T20 franchises and his price at the recent IPL player auction proves the same. The Afghanistan player was the centre of attraction at the BBL where he earned a fan in form Adam Gilchrist.

With 18 wickets in the BBL 2017/18, the 19-year-old stood out as the joint leading wicket-taker of the tournament along with Dwayne Bravo. He was bought by Kings XI Punjab in the IPL auctions for a whopping nine crore INR before his previous team Sunrisers Hyderabad used ‘right to match’ card. The leg-spinner’s performances are going to be crucial for Afghanistan in the upcoming the World Cup Qualifier starting next month. Rashid, who is the vice-captain of this Afghan side, will lead the team in the absence of Asghar Stanikzai for a few matches.

Youngest captain in the history of International cricket:

An appendix surgery ruled Stanikzai out of the CWCQ at least for next ten days when Afghanistan will be playing at least three games. The Afghan team will face Scotland, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong and Nepal on between 4th and 10th on alternate days in the group stage. Except for the game against Nepal, Afghanistan’s remaining three games possess ODI status which will be staging for Rashid Khan’s captaincy debut at the International level.

Rashid, who will be 19 years and 165 days old on March 4th, will become the youngest captain ever in the history of International cricket. Rajin Saleh led Bangladesh in the 2004 Champions Trophy at the age of 20 years and 297 days. Even in Women’s cricket, no player was younger than Rashid at the point of their captaincy debut. England’s Arran Bindle is the youngest player to lead a team in Women’s Cricket. She led the England side in a three ODIs on consecutive days in 2001 after making her captaincy debut at the age of 19 years and 260 days.