After their departure from the 2019 Cricket World Cup without a single win, Afghanistan appointed star bowler, Rashid Khan, as the newly appointed captain. The 20-year-old has told ESPNcricinfo, that he is ready for the responsibility and is mentally strong for it.
Rashid will captain in all formats, replacing Gulbadin Naib, who was the ODI captain during the World Cup.
Rashid said, "I wasn't quite surprised. I was already the vice-captain, which means you are the upcoming captain. Mentally, I was ready for it. Yes, it happened very quickly, but when it comes to the national team, when it comes to the country, you always have to be ready to lead. I'll try my best to lead as well as possible."
Advertisement
He added, "From here, we have to take steps. We have seen the World Cup, we have seen the oppositions and what should be the proper preparation for them, and we have to be very strong mentally. We have to be fully fit for such competitions and we have to be well-prepared. We are not playing with Associate teams right now, we are playing with the Full Members, so we have to be well-planned and prepared."
"The most important thing is fitness, we have to be very fit. These are the things we need to improve on in upcoming years to be a better side, a side that can beat any team. We have the talent, we have the skills. We just need to bring improvement in that," he said.
Advertisement
The next World Cup is set to place in India on 2023, while Australia will host the T20 World Cup in 2020. Rashid feels that his side need to learn to cope with big teams.
"That (2023 World Cup) is something that is a very big challenge for us. As I said, we have the skills and talent, but we need to improve. We need to know how to play against the big teams and what should be the proper preparation against them. As we saw, we were struggling in this World Cup. (But) I think the 2023 World Cup, it's a little bit far. The focus and target right now is the T20 World Cup in Australia," he said.
(ANI Inputs)
