Afghanistan star Rashid Khan has revealed that the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) did not inform him before removing him as the T20I captain earlier this year. Rashid said that he only learned about the leadership change when the board announced the squad without naming him as captain.
Afghanistan were eliminated in the group stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The ACB then appointed opener Ibrahim Zadran as the full-time T20I captain. Zadran’s first assignment was a three-match bilateral series against Shreyas Iyer-led India in New Delhi, where Afghanistan lost the series 0-3.
Rashid Khan Reveals He Was Not Informed About Captaincy Change
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Rashid Khan said that he was surprised by the way the captaincy change took place. The leg-spinner admitted that he was unaware of the decision before it was made public.
“Even I don’t know what exactly happened at that time. I came to know [about the captaincy change] when the board announced it," Rashid said while speaking to Cricinfo.
Rashid said that he has moved on from the decision and remains focused on contributing to Afghanistan regardless of his role. He led the team to the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-finals, where Afghanistan defeated Australia in the Super Eight stage.
“Under my captaincy, we reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals; we beat West Indies, but sometimes things aren’t in your control. But I have moved on now. Whether I am captain or not, I am proud that I am representing Afghanistan and I am trying to put to use whatever skills and capabilities I have. What I can control is to do well for Afghanistan and make them win.”
Rashid Khan’s T20I Captaincy Record for Afghanistan
Despite Afghanistan’s group-stage exit from the 2026 T20 World Cup, Rashid finished his captaincy tenure with a strong record. He led Afghanistan in 48 T20Is, winning 26 and losing 22.
Only former captain Asghar Afghan has a better win-loss record as Afghanistan’s T20I captain. However, Asghar’s tenure came during a period when Afghanistan regularly faced Associate and lower-ranked teams, while Rashid led the side against a larger number of full-member nations.
Rashid’s captaincy also included Afghanistan’s historic run to the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-finals. The team defeated New Zealand and Australia in the Super Eight stage before losing to South Africa in the semi-final.
Rashid Khan Opens Up on India Struggles After 3-0 Whitewash
Rashid Khan also spoke about Afghanistan’s repeated struggles against India and said the team needs to overcome the mental hurdle created by previous defeats.
“I think the most important thing for us is to believe in ourselves and believe that we can beat India. We have lost to them so many times that our players also have it in their minds that we have never beaten them and have always struggled against them.”
India won the opening two games by seven wickets each before completing the clean sweep with a 127-run victory in the third T20I. Rashid took four wickets for 113 runs across the three matches at an economy rate of 9.82.
Also read: Rashid Khan picks Virat Kohli as his toughest opponent, explains what makes him special
