‘He is a God-gifted talent’: Rashid Khan on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – and the skill that is ‘hardly’ seen at such a young age | EXCLUSIVE | Cricket News
Rashid Khan has been around the India-Afghanistan rivalry long enough to have seen the balance shift. Afghanistan are no longer the side simply hoping to push the bigger teams; there is now a belief within the group that they can beat them.That belief, though, comes with some unfinished work. Ahead of the third and final ODI against India, Rashid sat down with TimesofIndia.com to discuss where Afghanistan still needs to improve, pointing to the powerplay with both bat and ball and the need to develop the mentality to score big.Rashid has also watched India’s young players from close quarters. He spent time with Abhishek Sharma at Sunrisers Hyderabad and has witnessed the phenom of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, two players he believes have the skills to go a long way in the game. He explains what makes the pair different and why Sooryavanshi, in particular, has caught his eye at such a young age.For Afghanistan, Rashid sees plenty of talent coming through. Noor Ahmad has already been making an impact, while fast bowler Abdollah Ahmadzai is another name he believes could have a big future.
Excerpts:
Rashid, results aside, what do you think Afghanistan can take away from this series against India? And when you look at the two teams, where do you see the biggest difference at the moment?I think there are a lot of things we can take from this series. The learning is about how we are going to use the powerplay as a batting unit and what are the areas we need to improve. We see the opposition, how they are scoring runs, and how we are going to manage ourselves to score big runs under any condition, in any situation, and against any bowler. So, it is good learning for the youngsters who have been a part of the team for the first time, and for them, it is a good opportunity to learn from it.But I think if you look at the wickets in Delhi, you always see high-scoring games, and to have that mentality of scoring big is something that is so important. So I think we still have to do a lot of hard work in our batting department. Where we can score those big runs, plus as a bowling unit, we need to find solutions for how we are going to bowl in the powerplay. I think that is so important.If you are giving more than 70-80 runs in the powerplay, it doesn’t matter if you are defending 200 or 230. So I think as a team, collectively we have to find the solution for this, and these are the things we take it from here and work on in the future.
You have played against many Indian sides, and you have seen different versions of this Indian T20I side as well. What do you make of this Shreyas Iyer-led team now, which has a lot of youngsters coming in?Well, it is a very dangerous side, a destructive side. One after the other, someone is coming who is going to be super destructive, and we all see that they are capable of scoring big. It’s not just about scoring; they all have 100s in the T20 format. I think that is something that is dangerous about this team.Players take the game deep, and they score big. It’s not like just scoring 20-30 and getting out, I think. And they play fearless cricket. I think in T20, that is how it should be – play fearless. More importantly, they have so much skill, and that is what I think makes them different from any other team.Any young player that you look at and think this is going to be a very important player for this Indian team going forward?I think Abhishek Sharma. I spent so much time with him during SRH; we were very close at that time, and he [always] had that kind of ability and skill. He is doing so well with the bat, but I think he is a very good bowler as well. He has that wonderful skill where he can bowl for you in the middle. So I think he is the one who is going to be a very big package for Team India in the future.
Another young sensation who has been doing the rounds is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. You have bowled to him, and he has made his international debut at the age of 15 as well; but just beyond him being a talented player, what do you think really makes him that special kind of a player?Well, as I mentioned – fearless cricket. And he backs up his skills and knows his shots. I think his shot selection is more important, and he knows his game plan against any side, any bowler, anytime.You hardly see those kinds of things at a very young age; it comes with time, but he already has it. The way he plays fearlessly is what makes him unique. And the power he has, the hand-eye coordination; I think it is something very different. You hardly see that in any [other] player. He is a god-gifted talent.And when you see him, does it remind you of a young Rashid Khan, that fearlessness, that freedom which you used to play?I wasn’t that talented, to be honest, at that age, but yes, the skill was there. But I don’t know if I could hit those big sixes at that age, how he has been hitting. But as I said, he is a unique talent, and he has shown it not only in the IPL, but even in the Indian team as well, so I think he is someone very special.You have seen Afghanistan cricket go from being underdogs to a team that everybody genuinely thinks can beat the best. When did you actually see that change happening, and what is that next big step for Afghanistan cricket?Well, you know, we have hardly beaten big teams, but when we started, we started here [in India] in the 2023 World Cup, where we beat England; before that, we beat Pakistan in the bilateral T20 series, so I think all of it started from there, and then beating Sri Lanka, beating Pakistan in the World Cup.We did well in Australia & New Zealand at the T20 World Cup [2024], got into the semi-finals, so that belief started that we are in that category where we can beat big teams, so it all started from there. But it’s about us now, how we are going to manage and how we keep this continuing.Ibrahim Zadran is now leading the T20I side; you have had a lot of experience leading the side. What do you think makes him an ideal choice, or somebody that you look to and say, this is the guy who can take Afghanistan cricket forward?One thing I like about him is the hard work he puts in, and he is someone who always wants to lead from the front. You need someone like that who is very consistent and who is very straightforward,I think he is the kind of person who is always trying his best to set an example for the youngsters and show them this is the way to go. I think he is a very honest guy, a hard-working guy, and someone who has the ability to lead the team and to help the guys grow with him.And I am always there as a senior player with him to give the support he needs, but he himself is someone who is hard-working and very honest in his job.
You mentioned you are there as a senior guy there, but from your experience, what is that one thing that you learned the hard way as a captain that you are telling Ibrahim now?I have learnt so many things. Sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself, which doesn’t make it fair. As a captain, you try to put everything on yourself, and that has happened to me.I feel like those are the moments you need to just calm down and focus on your game, focus on your skills, and focus on your game plan. Not think too much about what is going to happen in the result, but think about the process, how it is going to be; as long as you have process in the mind, I think everything will be fine.You are one of the first Afghan cricketers to get that global recognition, and now a generation later there is a young lot of players coming up, if I have to ask you, if you can pick a couple of players that the world should look out for?There is few very good, talented players in Afghanistan coming up. Noor Ahmed has been doing so well, and he is someone who can get to the next level and who can put up some great performances in the future. In the fast-bowling unit as well, I think the area where we need to improve. But there is one fast bowler, Abdollah Ahmadzai, who is in the team now; he is bowling quick. I think if we manage him properly, he is going to be a very quick bowler and a good future for Afghanistan cricket.
You have been playing cricket since your teenage years, so there is a lot of injury, workload management, lot of cricket that is happening, so what is Rashid now as compared to young Rashid, how do you manage that workload?One thing is that I used to play a lot of cricket, I used to go one country to another and play all around the world, but it was good for me at that time because I got the experience and I got the knowledge about the condition of different countries. It really helped me at that point, but when I went into surgery and everything, I was struggling. I tried to reduce the cricket as much as possible.I also recently went to the Red Bull Athletic Performance Centre in Austria which gave me a very clear image and idea of my body because I have gone through so many tests and everything and I now know what are the areas I need to improve. I had a very clear picture there with the physio and doctors in moving forward what should I avoid, and where I should play, where I shouldn’t play, how much cricket I should play.You started in Afghanistan trying to find ways to play cricket; now you are a global superstar. Looking back and where you are right now, what is it that one thing that is still unfinished for Rashid Khan?Well, one unfinished thing is to win the World Cup for team Afghanistan. That is something which you know I am so much looking forward to. We had a great opportunity in the 2024 [T20] World Cup where we reached the semi-finals, but we couldn’t make it to the final. So I think that is something to yearn for – an ICC event [trophy] until I play.I think that is something which I want to have in my book, that yes, an ICC event, be it the T20 World Cup or 50-over World Cup.
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