Afghanistan’s star all-rounder Rashid Khan is one of the greatest finds of the Afghanistan cricket team. Over the years, he has become the ‘go-to’ man for his national side as well as several franchises in various T20 tournaments.
Recently, in an interaction on the YouTube show “Cricast”, Rashid Khan expressed his admiration for several Indian cricketers. Amidst the interaction, Rashid Khan revealed the advice MS Dhoni gave him.
MS Dhoni, who is known for interacting with youngsters and giving them valuable advice, once advised Rashid not to get unnecessarily aggressive while fielding. He also admitted that his interaction with MS has been very helpful. He said:
“After our matches, the discussions that I have with him has helped me. Last time he told me, ‘You have to be careful while fielding, you slide, throw the ball when it is not necessary, you get aggressive. Because there is only one Rashid Khan and people want to see you more, what will happen if you get injured? Keep this in mind, I tell (Ravindra) Jadeja the same thing’.”
Rashid Khan also expressed that he wishes to play under MS Dhoni someday. As per him, a wicketkeeper is the best man to explain things to a bowler. He said:
“I have dream that I play under MS Dhoni because the experience playing with him, under him is very important. For a bowler, the role of wicketkeeper is very important and I don’t think there is anyone better than him to explain you things.”
Apart from MS Dhoni, Rashid Khan revealed that he is a big fan of Mumbai Indians’ skipper Rohit Sharma. Rashid Khan believes that Rohit is naturally gifted. He said:
“He has got a lot of time. I have seen very few players who have a lot of time. It is natural for some players to have more time. The way he pulls even if it is 145 plus or 150 kmph, the way he hits, it seems the ball is 125 or 130 kmph. He doesn’t hit too many powerful shots. He believes in his timing,”
Apart from playing under the leadership of MS Dhoni, Rashid revealed that he has a dream to bowl against the legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. He said:
“The reason I want to bowl to him is that he was hardly out on the leg spinner. It would be a great pleasure to bowl to a batsman like Sachin Tendulkar more than getting him out. Getting them out is a different matter. Bowling to him would be a dream come true.