Rashid Khan Creates History, Becomes First Afghanistan Bowler to Achieve This
Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan made cricket history by becoming the first bowler from his country to complete 200 ODI wickets. This amazing record came during Afghanistan’s first ODI match against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi on October 8, 2024. Rashid Khan completed this historic milestone while taking three wickets for 38 runs in his 10 overs.
Rashid Khan 200 ODI Wickets Achievement
During the match against Bangladesh, Rashid Khan took the wickets of captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Jaker Ali, and Nurul Hassan to reach this special milestone. Now with 202 ODI wickets in 115 matches, Rashid has an outstanding average of 20.28 and an economy rate of 4.23. His best ODI bowling figures remain 7 wickets for 18 runs, which he achieved against the West Indies.
Rashid Khan now leads all Afghanistan bowlers by a big margin. Mohammed Nabi sits second with 176 wickets in 174 matches, while Dawlat Zadran is third with 115 wickets in 82 matches. This shows how much Rashid Khan has contributed to Afghanistan cricket over the years.
The spinner has also collected six four-wicket hauls and five five-wicket hauls in his ODI career. These numbers prove that Rashid Khan regularly takes important wickets for his team in crucial moments of matches.
Rashid Khan Brokes Shane Warne’s Record
By reaching 200 ODI wickets, Rashid Khan also became the second-fastest spinner to achieve this milestone. He reached 200 wickets in his 115th match, which is 10 matches faster than legendary Australian spinner Shane Warne who took 125 matches. Only Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq achieved this mark faster among spinners, doing it in just 104 matches.
When we look at all bowlers, Rashid Khan is the fifth-fastest to reach 200 ODI wickets by innings played. He achieved this milestone in 107 innings, putting him behind only Mitchell Starc (102 innings), Mohammed Shami (103 innings), Saqlain Mushtaq (104 innings), and Trent Boult (107 innings).
Rashid Khan T20’s Record
Rashid Khan holds an even more impressive record in T20 International cricket. He became the leading wicket-taker in T20Is by surpassing New Zealand’s Tim Southee’s record of 164 wickets. Rashid achieved this milestone during a match against the United Arab Emirates in Sharjah on September 2, 2024.
Currently, Rashid Khan has 179 T20I wickets from 106 matches with an amazing average of 13.80 and economy rate of 6.09. His best T20I bowling figures are 5 wickets for 3 runs against Ireland, which remains one of the best T20I bowling performances ever.
The spinner’s T20I record is truly special. He took his 165th T20I wicket by removing Ethan D’Souza, Asif Khan, and Dhruv Parashar in quick succession during the match against UAE. This performance helped Afghanistan win by 38 runs and gave Rashid Khan the T20I wickets record.
Most Wickets in T20 Cricket Overall
Beyond international cricket, Rashid Khan holds the record for most wickets in all T20 cricket formats combined. He has taken over 570 wickets across T20 internationals, IPL, Big Bash League, and other T20 tournaments. This makes him the most successful T20 bowler in the world across all competitions.
In franchise cricket, Rashid Khan has been equally successful. He has 158 IPL wickets from 136 matches with Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the Big Bash League, he took 98 wickets and remains the leading wicket-taker among overseas players.
Apart from his bowling records, Rashid Khan also holds the record for being the youngest international cricket captain. He became Afghanistan’s captain at age 19 years and 165 days during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier against Scotland. This made him the youngest person ever to captain any international cricket team in any format.
Although his first match as captain did not go well, with Afghanistan losing to Scotland, Rashid Khan showed great leadership skills during the tournament. Afghanistan still qualified for the 2019 Cricket World Cup under his captaincy during that qualifying tournament.
Rashid Khan made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe on October 18, 2015, when he was just 17 years old. He quickly became one of the fastest bowlers to reach major milestones in international cricket. Rashid reached 100 ODI wickets in just 44 matches, breaking Mitchell Starc’s previous record of 52 matches.
Similarly, in T20Is, Rashid Khan became the fastest bowler to take 100 wickets, achieving this milestone in his 53rd match. He also holds the record for most international wickets taken by a teenager, with 176 wickets before turning 20.
His rise in cricket was very quick. Rashid had only 19 T20 wickets in 2016 but became one of the most wanted players in franchise cricket by 2017. By 2019, he was ranked 11th among top T20 wicket-takers worldwide and reached second place behind Dwayne Bravo by 2022.
What makes Rashid Khan special is his consistent performance year after year. He took over 50 wickets in T20s for eight straight years from 2017 to 2024. No other bowler has achieved 50 or more wickets in more than five years, and nobody has done it for more than three years in a row.
In 2018, Rashid Khan nearly reached 100 T20 wickets in a single year, finishing with 96 wickets from 61 matches. This remains the most wickets by any bowler in a calendar year. He also took 81 wickets in 2022 and 80 wickets in 2017.
Afghanistan vs Bangladesh Match Performance
In the historic match where Rashid Khan reached 200 ODI wickets, Afghanistan won by 5 wickets with 17 balls remaining. Bangladesh batted first and scored 221 runs in 48.5 overs, with Towhid Hridoy making 56 runs and captain Mehidy Hasan Miraz scoring 60 runs.
Besides Rashid Khan’s three wickets, Azmatullah Omarzai also took three wickets for 40 runs, Allah Ghazanfar took two wickets for 55 runs, and Nangeyalia Kharote took one wicket for 32 runs. This bowling performance helped Afghanistan restrict Bangladesh to a moderate total.
During Afghanistan’s chase of 222 runs, Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored 50 runs from 76 balls, and Rahmat Shah also made 50 runs from 70 balls. Azmatullah Omarzai played a quick innings of 40 runs from 44 balls with six fours and one six to help Afghanistan reach the target.
Second Player to Achieve Double Record
Rashid Khan became only the second cricketer in history to take 200 wickets in both ODIs and T20Is. New Zealand pacer Tim Southee was the first player to achieve this rare double in international cricket. This achievement shows Rashid Khan’s excellence across both white-ball formats of international cricket.
His success in both formats is remarkable because ODI and T20I cricket require different bowling skills and strategies. In ODIs, bowlers need to bowl longer spells and focus on building pressure over many overs. In T20Is, bowlers must be economical while also taking wickets quickly in shorter spells.
IPL and Franchise Cricket Success
Rashid Khan has been very successful in the Indian Premier League since his debut in 2017. He has taken 158 wickets from 136 IPL matches with an economy rate of 7.09. His IPL wicket tally is the joint-highest across eight seasons since his debut, along with Yuzvendra Chahal.
Despite increasing run rates in modern T20 cricket, Rashid Khan maintained an economy rate under seven in the IPL. His economy rate of 6.82 places him just behind Sunil Narine among bowlers with over 100 IPL wickets.
Rashid Khan helped Gujarat Titans win the IPL title in their first season in 2022 by taking 19 wickets. In 2023, he claimed 27 wickets including Gujarat Titans’ first-ever IPL hat-trick against Kolkata Knight Riders. He also scored a brilliant 79 runs from 32 balls against Mumbai Indians, showing his batting skills.
Rashid Khan’s success has helped raise the profile of Afghanistan cricket worldwide. When he started playing international cricket, Afghanistan was still an associate nation trying to establish itself in world cricket. His performances helped Afghanistan gain Test status and become a full member of the International Cricket Council.
