Rashid Khan Had No Idea He Was Being Removed as T20I Captain

One of Afghanistan’s biggest cricket stars, Rashid Khan, has made explosive comments about the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB). Earlier this year, the ACB removed Rashid from the captaincy of Afghanistan’s T20I team. The leg-spinner claims that he was not informed by the board beforehand about the decision.

After Afghanistan were eliminated from the group stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup, opening batter Ibrahim Zadran replaced Rashid as captain.

Speaking in an interview with Cricinfo, organized by Red Bull, Rashid Khan said, “Even I don’t know exactly what happened at that time. I only came to know about the change in captaincy when the board officially announced it.”

Although Afghanistan’s performance at the 2026 T20 World Cup was disappointing, the team had enjoyed a strong record under Rashid’s leadership. One of their biggest achievements was reaching the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Under Rashid, Afghanistan played 48 T20Is, winning 26 and losing 22.

Only Asghar Afghan had a higher win percentage than Rashid among Afghanistan’s T20I captains, although during Asghar’s tenure, Afghanistan played most of their matches against comparatively lower-ranked teams.

Despite his disappointment, Rashid wants to put the matter behind him and focus on the future. He said, “Under my leadership, we reached the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup and beat the West Indies. But there are some things that are beyond your control. I have moved on from it now. Whether I am captain or not, I am proud to represent Afghanistan. I continue to try to give my best according to my skills and abilities. I am now focused on what is within my control—playing well for my country and helping the team win.”

Meanwhile, Ibrahim Zadran’s first assignment as Afghanistan’s full-time captain was the recently concluded three-match T20I series against India. Afghanistan were whitewashed 3-0 in the series. Rashid Khan took four wickets in the series while conceding 113 runs at an economy rate of 9.82.