Rashid Khan has always been sensitive to the
difficulties faced by the Afghan people. He was in the UK performing in the
Hundred at the time of the Taliban takeover, and all he wanted was
“peace.” He hoped that their defeat of the men’s ODI World Champions
England could provide some comfort to the country in the wake of earthquakes
that have caused significant damage in Herat.
“It will be a big celebration back home,” he
told Star Sports after the game “We don’t have that kind of wins and that
kind of situation back home in Afghanistan where people could celebrate. I
think cricket is the only source which gives them lots of happiness and lots of
good memories and people back home just wait. We have lost so many games but
still the kind of support we got from them…and they are so excited for us to
be playing in that stage.”
“Winning the game against England was a big one
for us, back home they will be so proud. Lately, we’ve had an earthquake back
home in Afghanistan in Herat where lots of people lost their lives, more than
3000. Around 2000 people’s houses were destroyed. This victory will give them a
little bit of smile on their faces and they could little bit forget those tough
days.”
Afghanistan’s lone World Cup victory in 17 tries had
come against Scotland back in the 2015 tournament. However, the Afghanistan
spin trio of Rashid, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and Mohammad Nabi, who amassed the
tournament’s second-highest score, worked their magic as England suffered their
second loss in three games by a score of 69 runs in Delhi.
Rashid was instrumental in the victory, both with the
bat and the ball. Afghanistan scored 284 in 49.5 overs thanks to his first
critical 23-ball 22 at the bottom of the order, stopping a downward spiral. He
then went on to take his side to the biggest upset of the competition this year
with a three-wicket haul.
“Against a big team like England, it always gives
you a kind of huge boost. We had very tough games in the Asia Cup and the
series against Pakistan,” he said.
“We were very close there but we were not winning
those games, which was disappointing to the players because they were working
very hard and at the end they were ending on the wrong side. They were not
getting the right kind of energy and boost up. This win will give us a lot of
energy for the rest of the competition. Now we have the belief that we can beat
any side at any time.”