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A profile

Rashid's big breakthrough

Rohit Bhardwaj The Times of India Nov 17 2014

Mumbai:

Delhi boy Rashid Khan, who has showed immense promise in home conditions, in Nov 2014 proved that he has come of age by clinching his first overseas victory in Thailand.

Rashid won the $750,000 Chiangmai Golf Classic by one stroke, surpassing fellow Indian Jyoti Randhawa and local lad Thanyakon Khrongpha at Bangkok's Alpine Golf Resort. This was also Rashid's second Asian Tour title, which propelled him to the eighth place from last week's 22nd spot in the continental Order of Merit. Rashid won his first Asian Tour trophy at the SAIL-SBI Open this February in a playoff against Bangladesh's Siddikur Rehman.

Rashid became the second golfer after India's highest-ranked pro Anirban Lahiri to get a breakthrough win this year.Anirban clinched his first title on foreign turf in April 2014.

Rashid began his golfing journey at the age of nine as a caddie at the Delhi Golf Club with equipment borrowed from his uncle Mohd Maqbool Khan. But it was in 1999 that his enrolment for DGC's Junior Golf Development program changed his fate. In 2006, Rashid won Indian Golf Union's (IGU) All India Juniors after which there was no looking back. In fact, it was after his silver-medal winning effort at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games that prompted him to turn pro. And it didn't take much time for him to clinch his first pro title the very next year, at the Surya Nepal Masters.

But he was unable to win a single title competing against Asia's best and even lost to compatriots -Anirban Lahiri and S Chikkarangappa -in playoffs for the SAIL-SBI Open and CG Open respectively last year.

2018

A splendid IPL

Dhananjay Roy, ‘After president, maybe I’m most popular in Afghanistan’, May 29, 2018: The Times of India

Rashid Khan was easily one of the best performers in the Indian Premier League that concluded on Sunday. As brilliant and consistent as the 19-year-old Afghan was for Sunrisers Hyderabad during the tournament, there was a moment late last week when he developed cold feet.

His magnificent all-round performance against Kolkata Knight Riders in Qualifier 2 at the Eden Gardens led to batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar tweeting that Khan, at the moment, was the best T20 bowler in the world. Khan learnt of this tweet when he boarded the team bus post SRH’s win and was awestruck. “When I got into the bus, a friend sent me a screenshot of the tweet and I was shocked to see it. I was thinking for like 1-2 hours before I could eventually reply. I really didn’t know what to write, but finally I replied,” Khan told TOI on Monday.

“The whole of Afghanistan seemed to have seen that tweet. Tendulkar is very, very famous there and everyone was surprised that he had such high praise for me. Statements like these motivate young players,” he added.

Khan ended IPL-11 with 21 wickets, finishing behind Kings XI’s Andrew Tye, who got 24 wickets for the purple cap. And, remarkably, every top-order batsman was troubled by him at some point during the tournament. They simply failed to read his well-disguised googlies, leading to their downfall. Khan picked out three wickets that were special to him. “Getting rid of Virat (Kohli), AB (de Villiers) and MS Dhoni was very satisfying. In fact, I consider them the best wickets of my career so far. They are really good players of spin bowling so getting them out made it memorable for me.” Khan was also adjudged the best T20 bowler at the Ceat awards on Monday night.

The T20 format is ruthless, especially on bowlers, but Khan believes the key to his success has been the ability stay patient and confident even when batsmen are going after him. “T20s is all about enjoying yourself. The more you enjoy, the better you will perform. The moment you let fear get the better of you, you are in trouble.”

Afghanistan are set to make their Test debut against India in the middle of June, and this is one occasion the entire country is looking forward to. “It’s a big match for us as playing Tests is a dream for every cricket-playing nation. All of us who are selected for that match will consider ourselves lucky. After all, we will be making history. And, it doesn’t get bigger than the fact that we will be playing India in India.”

Khan’s every move is tracked minutely by people back home and he has played a major role in the phenomenal growth of cricket in Afghanistan. Ask him whether he enjoys the same status that top cricketers enjoy in India, and he says, albeit a little shyly: “As far as I know, after the President of the country, maybe, I am the person who is most popular in Afghanistan.”

Needless to say, things have changed significantly for Khan over the past couple of years, thanks to his dramatic rise and presence in the various leagues around the world. “I have not been able to spend too much time with my family, finding myself with them barely for 15 to 20 days,” he said. But, he also believes the sacrifice will be worth it, if he can continue improving his game and delivering the goods for his country.