Rashid Khan has been a dominant force in T20 cricket, troubling Bangladesh in a match on November 9, 2024. He recently surpassed Dwayne Bravo as the leading wicket-taker in T20s and is aiming to reach 1000 wickets, a milestone he finds exciting. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Rashid discusses his journey to the top, including his rapid rise and the support he has received from Bravo.
Reflecting on his career, Rashid expresses satisfaction with his achievements in a relatively short span of nine years. He credits his success to hard work and dedication, never imagining he would play T20 Internationals and leagues worldwide when he started. Despite his quick climb to the top, Rashid remains focused on maintaining his edge as a bowler and setting new records in the future.
Rashid acknowledges the support from Bravo, who congratulated him on breaking the record and recognized his deserving of the achievement. Looking ahead, Rashid aims to surpass Tim Southee as the highest wicket-taker in T20Is and continues to work on his accuracy and consistency, using bottle tops to sharpen his skills when needed. In today’s era of playing excessive T20 cricket with back-to-back games, it becomes challenging to maintain the same level of training all the time. However, I still continue to train with bottle tops like I do in ODI and Test cricket, which proves to be useful.
I recently played a Test match against Zimbabwe where I found the initial part of my first spell tough, but as I settled into a rhythm, I enjoyed it and focused on hitting the right areas consistently. Bowling 55 overs in the match, I felt like I could have bowled even more. This is how I approach my bowling, always aiming to challenge myself to hit the right areas with each delivery.
When it comes to taking wickets in T20 cricket, my focus remains on having a wicket-taking mindset with every ball I bowl. This mentality helps me to put batters under pressure and strive to take wickets consistently. While there are times in the death overs where the approach may shift to delivering dot balls, the goal is always to take wickets.
Reflecting on my T20 career, three standout spells come to mind. One was against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup where I took four crucial wickets while defending a low total. Another memorable spell was against New Zealand in the same tournament. Additionally, my performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2018 was a game-changer.
Reaching the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup with Afghanistan is definitely one of the biggest moments of my career. It was a missed opportunity to make it to the final, but the journey and experience were invaluable.
Regarding playing for multiple franchises in different T20 leagues, I believe sticking to one franchise across leagues could be beneficial for a player. Familiarity with the setup, management, and team culture can make the adjustment easier and enhance performance.
As teams like Paarl Royals in SA20 experiment with bowling 20 overs of spin, the future of T20 cricket may see more teams opting for spin-heavy strategies depending on the conditions. I believe that even in the final overs of a cricket match, you can still find opportunities to score boundaries off spinners, unless the pitch is extremely slow or turning. The skills of fast bowlers are crucial in both the beginning and end of a match, being able to swing the ball in different directions and execute wide yorkers. This variety adds to the beauty of the game and should not be discounted in favor of relying solely on spinners. As I approach 700 wickets at 26 years old, my ultimate goal is to reach 1000 wickets in T20 matches. Achieving this milestone would be a massive accomplishment and I am motivated to continue working towards it as long as I maintain my fitness and performance levels. The prospect of reaching such a significant number of wickets is thrilling and I am hopeful that with dedication and hard work, I can make it happen within the next few years.
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