Rashid eyes WC glory not wedding bells

Rashid Khan insists his mind is occupied by the World Cup and not wedding bells as the leg-spin wizard looks to inspire Afghanistan at the Twenty20 global showpiece.

Still only 23, Rashid is key to his nation’s hopes of a first world title and a potential triumph which would deliver a rare bout of good news for his home country.

However, Rashid told AFP that speculation over his private life in the run-up to the tournament, currently underway in Oman and the UAE, will not derail his ambitions.

He denied he ever said: “I will marry when Afghanistan win a World Cup.”

“Actually, I was so shocked when I heard this because, to be honest, I never made a statement that I will marry once I win the World Cup,” said Rashid, whose family lives in Nangarhar in the eastern part of Afghanistan.

“I just said that in the next few years I have more cricket and three World Cups (the 2021 and 2022 Twenty20 World Cups and the 50-over World Cup in 2023) so my focus will be on cricket rather than on getting married.”

On the low, slow wickets of the Gulf, spin will be key. “I think it will be a spinners’ World Cup,” said Rashid.

“The wickets here are mostly very good for spinners, so I think that’s the main reason most of the teams have more spinners in their attack.” – AFP