In his newly released book, Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom, Afghan cricket sensation Rashid Khan has made the startling revelation that he was once informally invited to abandon his home nation to represent India and Australia.
According to the 27-year-old leg-spinner, the most direct approach came during the 2023 IPL season while he was playing for Gujarat Titans. Khan recounts a meeting with a “high-ranking official from the Indian Cricket Board” who cited the unstable political climate in Afghanistan as a reason for him to relocate.
Details of Offer
The official reportedly suggested that Rashid Khan should move to India permanently. “The situation in your country is very bad. Come stay in India. We will give you Indian documents, live here, play cricket here,” the official allegedly told him.
Taken aback by the suggestion, Rashid politely declined. He recalls smiling and telling the official, “Thank you very much. I am playing for my country, Afghanistan.” The book also mentions a similar approach from Australia, though Rashid provides fewer details on that specific encounter.
“I received 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,’” he wrote.
Legacy of Loyalty
Rashid’s commitment to Afghanistan has been a recurring theme in his career. In 2018, following a dominant performance for Sunrisers Hyderabad, Indian fans took to social media to petition the government to grant him citizenship. The frenzy grew so large that then-External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and then-Afghan President Ashraf Ghani both publicly addressed the matter, with Ghani asserting that Rashid was a “national hero” who belonged to Afghanistan.
The star bowler, who recently celebrated the birth of his son, Azlan, reiterated his stance in his memoir: “If I don’t play for my country, I won’t play for any other country either.”
