Former Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan has shared that he received offers of citizenship and the chance to represent two countries. He decided to reject these offers, choosing to stay loyal to Afghanistan.
The leg-spinner, a key player for Afghanistan, discusses this in his soon-to-be-released book, *Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom*. In the book, he mentions being approached about changing his nationality during the 2023 IPL season.
“I received such offers 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 states in the book.
While Rashid does not provide many details about the offer from Australia, he talks more about the one from India. At that time, he was with the Gujarat Titans in the IPL when a team official told him that a senior member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India wanted to speak with him.
“I went over and greeted him. We started talking, and he said: ‘The situation in your country (Afghanistan) is very bad. Come stay in India. We will give you Indian documents, live here, play cricket here.’ I was surprised and didn’t know how to respond. But I smiled and said, ‘Thank you very much. I am playing for my country, Afghanistan,'” Rashid recalled.
Rashid’s dedication to Afghanistan made headlines back in 2018 during his time with the Sunrisers Hyderabad. He delivered a remarkable performance against the Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring 34 runs off just 10 balls and taking three wickets.
This performance led to a social media campaign in India, with individuals encouraging the government to grant him citizenship. Many tagged the then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who mentioned that such matters would be addressed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Additionally, Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani referred to Rashid as a source of national pride, emphasizing that the country would keep hold of one of its best cricket talents.
The book also details Rashid’s journey from his hometown of Nangarhar to becoming a leading T20 player globally. It highlights significant moments in his career, from being overlooked at an Afghanistan Under-19 trial to rising as an International star and being named the ICC Player of the Decade in 2020.