Rashid Khan giggles just thinking about the prospect of becoming the first player to reach the 1000 wickets in T20s. Having just surpassed Dwayne Bravo to become the leading wicket-taker in T20s, Rashid, who is 26 years old, is optimistic he can get the 368 wickets he still needs to set that incredible record in "maximum four years" subject to fitness. In the following chat with ESPNcricinfo, conducted on the eve of the SA20 final where Rashid is leading MI Cape Town, the Afghanistan wristspinner talks about not just milestones but also how he works on maintaining an edge in a sport dominated by batters.
In a batter-friendly format you have managed to create this record - that must give you incredible satisfaction?
Definitely, it does. Especially when I look at my career, it's not that long, where I feel like, say I played 15-20 years and this record has been broken and it's under my name now. It is just nine years. And that's how long DJ Bravo held that record for (eight years). But it's a massive, massive achievement for me because if I look back in 2014-15, I never ever thought that I will play T20 Internationals and (franchise) leagues all around the world. I never ever had that in my mind. I'll only try my best to continue (growing) and make it as bigger as possible.
Has DJ messaged or called you?
Yes, we spoke. He messaged me as well. He was so happy and said: "(I know) you are the one who (would) break this record. You totally deserve all this." He's always been very supportive and we had some great times and in (2024) T20 World Cup as well when he was Afghanistan bowling coach.
Your climb to the top has been incredibly quick. At the end of 2016, your second year in competitive cricket, you had 38 wickets when Bravo was the leading wicket-taker in T20s with 367 wickets. By end of 2024 you had 622 wickets, only nine behind Bravo who retired last year. You did not take the staircase, you are on the escalator.
I was thinking the same couple of days back. I was just checking my records: how many wickets DJ Bravo had when I debuted and how much I have now. I read that since I debuted, while I got 600-plus wickets, the difference between me and the next best bowler with most wickets in this period was nearly half (229 - South African legspinner Imran Tahir has 403 wickets). Like I said, it's hard to believe. What makes it more special for me is the record now belongs to someone from Afghanistan.
You should read the piece we did after you surpassed Bravo…
I would love to. And keep an eye on which records I could break in the future (chuckles).
There's one you are withing touching distance: you are three wickets short of going past Tim Southee to become the highest wicket-taker in T20Is.
That I already have in my mind. I tried my best to cross that in the Zimbabwe series recently, but I took only nine wickets. But hopefully in Asia Cup (scheduled later in 2025)
Last IPL when we met, you mentioned you have reached this far by sticking to that simple mantra - bowling in the right areas. As you evolve you will continue to stick to that?
You never let your strength go away from you. That's my strength and that's why I'm more effective when I'm bowling there (points to the spot he wants to pitch) and that's where batsmen struggle as well. As soon I start bowling here and here (away from the spot intended), maybe it becomes more easier for them. It's more about that length, that line and that's what makes it very hard (for the batter). Sometimes as a bowler, if you think a lot, like what will happen if I bowl there, then we forget to bowl in the right areas, then we forget what is our strength.
"Every ball I'm bowling I want to take wicket, I want to bowl the best ball, I want to put the batter in trouble. As soon as you have that in the mind, wickets will come" Rashid Khan about his mindset
I have seen so many bowlers, especially at the death, bowling the length ball and they are still hard to hit. I will give you an example of Mohammed Shami - he is bowling length balls at the death and still it's hard for the batters to go after him because he is pitching on the right line and right length. [Jasprit] Bumrah is the same. He bowls the best yorkers, but at the same time also bowls the length ball which is equally hard to hit. Because he is pitching where he wants it and where he thinks it is hard for the batter to hit. For me it's the same: it's just the length and line and as long as I stick to that I don't think I should change much. Yes, I can think about varying the pace and the grips, but not about change my line and length.
Do you still use the bottle tops to sharpen your accuracy and consistency?
Yes, sometimes when I face bit of a challenge, when I'm not hitting the right areas consistently, I bring them (bottle tops) and that really helps me. But nowadays when you are playing too much (T20) cricket and back-to-back games, it becomes harder to keep doing that all the time. But yes, in a longer format I still keep train (with bottle tops) like in ODI and Test cricket and it comes handy.
I recently played a Test against Zimbabwe. The earlier part of my first spell was harder for me, around the first five overs. But as soon I got used to the rhythm, I pitched the ball in the right areas and I just enjoyed and I just wanted to bowl and bowl. I bowled 55 overs, but I still felt like I hadn't bowled much. I should have bowled more than that. So that's how I enjoy my bowling and that's how I am focussing on hitting the right areas consistently, by challenging myself: can I hit that area now? Can I hit that area with this ball, with a leggie, with the straighter one?
Batters have charged you and then played safe. As you have evolved, is your basic aim still taking wickets or you want to ensure you attack by being defensive?
Taking wickets is thinking about how it's going to happen. You can take a wicket on a full toss or on a back-of-length ball as well. But what you have in the mind is important, about how I'm going to get the wicket and that mentality you must have: if I'm bowling the wrong 'un, because I want to hit him on the pad. Why I'm bowling legspin? Because I want to beat him, I want to get him caught behind, I want him caught in the slip. You need to have that wicket-taking mindset every ball unless you are bowling in death when you are bowling wide yorkers, wide slower ones, when you just need to try and deliver a dot ball. But your mentality should be taking wickets each and every ball. And that's something which I mostly have in my mind: every ball I'm bowling I want to take wicket, I want to bowl the best ball, I want to put the batter in trouble. As soon as you have that in the mind, wickets will come, dot balls will come and good spells will come.
Personally, can you talk about few top spells from your T20 career?
I will name three. One was against Bangladesh in the last T20 World Cup where I got four wickets (4 for 23) where we were defending 115. That was a very crucial spell for me. Yes, I got four wickets against New Zealand (4 for 17) as well in the same World Cup, but that was different game and this was different game. Against Bangladesh, I'm defending only 115, which was a tough situation hence I felt that's why this is a little bit higher. Another is against KKR in IPL 2018 in Qualifier 2 (3 for 19) which totally changed the game. The other I got 6 for 17 for Adelaide Strikers in BBL because bowling in Australia is something harder.
Afghanistan reaching the semi-finals in the 2024 T20 World Cup - was the biggest moment of your T20 career so far?
It is 100% one of the biggest moments of my career, in my life, to get to the semi-finals. And I still feel and I still think about that match. How we were (so) near to the final, we could have played the final. I still feel so bad whenever I remember that day that I thought if it was a better wicket, both teams could have done much, much better and it would've been one of the best games for us as a team. You know that ground (in Tarouba), we came two, three times for practice and we cancelled the practice because of the wickets.
Currently 410 of your overall T20 wickets have come in leagues. You are leading MICT. You also play for two other MI franchises - in ILT20 and MLC. MI now also have acquired another franchise, Oval Invincibles, in the Hundred. From a player's viewpoint, do you reckon it might be beneficial to you to stick to one franchise across leagues?
Yes. It's something which makes it so easy for you. You already know the set-up, the management, the environment, you feel like you know history of the franchise, how good it is and their mindset on cricket. I feel like that in future you just stick at one place. And that's something for me personally, it's quite important. I'm happy to be representing them (MI) all over: New York, here, Emirates. It plays a good role where it doesn't allow you that okay, if I go a new set-up, how it's going to be, how I'm going to adjust. But with this set-up, it becomes easier for you that you can adjust yourself quickly and you start focusing and start performing from the day one.
This SA20, Paarl Royals became the first team to bowl 20 overs of spin. Do you reckon teams will bowl more spin as T20 evolves?
Well, it depends on conditions as well. To be honest, I don't think so (bowling spin for 20 overs). I still feel in the last few overs, you can still manage to hit one or two boundaries off the spinner in an over unless it's a very, very, very slow wicket and/or a turning wicket. I feel you still need those skills of fast bowlers to bowl at death, those skills of fast bowlers to bowl with the new ball, swing the ball both ways, I will love to see the ball reverse, I still love to see fast bowlers bowling slower ones, wide yorkers. That is the beauty of this game, of the short format, and it shouldn't go away. It shouldn't be taken away where people think about, okay, let's just go with (only) spinners and it's easy. No, I don't think so. It's going to affect the game and the beauty of the game may just go away.
You are 26 and already you are inching towards 700 wickets. If you keep your fitness, guess 1000 wickets is a milestone you might want to work towards?
That's the target (breaching the 1000-wicket barrier). It's going to be massive to get 1000 wickets. Yeah, if I'm fit and I'm doing well, that's something which will be a biggest achievement to take: 1000 wickets in T20s. And I can only just think about it, how good it would be and how it will be to have those four digits of wickets. That's something which is going to be unbelievable. But yes, hopefully, hopefully I'm fit. I feel like if I (continue to) play the cricket I've been playing next three-and a-half-to-four years, I feel like I can get there.