Former captain of Afghanistan Rashid Khan Has revealed that two countries had approached him with the offer of citizenship and the opportunity to represent at the international level. However, he decided to decline both offers, remaining loyal to his motherland.
The leg spinner, one of Afghanistan's most influential cricketers, shares this experience in his upcoming book Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom. In the book, he recalls that he was informally approached about switching allegiance during the 2023 IPL season.
Rashid is quoted in the book as saying, “I got such offers (citizenship and playing) from both Australia and India. But I told them, 'If I don't play for my country, I won't play for any other country either.'”
Rashid did not elaborate on Australia's approach, but he did elaborate on India's offer. At the time, he was playing in the IPL for Gujarat Titans when a team official informed him that a senior person from the Board of Control for Cricket in India wanted to meet him.
“I went to him and greeted him. We started talking and he said, 'The situation in your country (Afghanistan) is very bad. Come and live in India. We will give you Indian documents, stay here, play cricket here.' I was surprised by what he was saying and didn't know how to respond. But I smiled and said, 'Thank you very much.' Rashid said, “I am playing for my country Afghanistan.”
Earlier, Rashid's loyalty to Afghanistan had already made headlines during his stint with Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2018. In the match against Kolkata Knight Riders, he gave a brilliant all-round performance and scored 34 runs in just 10 balls and took three wickets.
The performance sparked a social media campaign in India, with fans urging the government to grant him citizenship. Many also tagged then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who replied that such cases would be handled by the Home Ministry.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani described Rashid as a matter of national pride, making it clear that the country will not give up on one of its most talented cricketing assets.
The book also describes Rashid's journey from the dusty streets of Nangarhar to becoming one of the best T20 players in the world. It highlights key moments in his career, from being overlooked for the Afghanistan Under-19 trials to emerging as a global star and being named the ICC Player of the Decade in 2020.
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