I shouldn’t have bowled but wanted country to win, reveals Rashid Khan
Rashid Khan has stated that the injury, he had sustained in the match against Bangladesh, should have kept him on the sidelines but his desire to make the team win made him bowl even when he was hurt. He further stated he is not yet sure of playing the final because of the injury.
Having led them to the final, Rashid Khan is likely to miss out on the match after he pulled a hamstring in the last round-robin fixture. Having resigned himself to the sideline initially, the influential spinner returned to the field and ended up taking two wickets. However, he made matters worse while trying to stop a run in the field, only for all the efforts to end up in a losing cause as the Bangladeshis won by four wickets.
"I can't say anything right now. I had some work on my hamstring yesterday and today. Let's hope it works. Today we will see how it goes in the remaining session, and we will decide tomorrow. The main reason to come back and bowl was that I wanted to know the severity of the injury. The physio and coaches didn't want me to bowl. I was okay with the first two overs, but after going for a run, it got worse. Hopefully, it will be okay for tomorrow. Physio will have a lot of work to do,” Rashid was quoted saying by Cricbuzz.
The 21-year-old already has 110-plus cups to his name and is the national captain in all the three formats of the game. He is one of the best spin bowlers in the world, especially in the shorter version of the game where he sits at number one and has time and again proved his dedication and love for Afghanistan on the field.
"I think I shouldn't have bowled, but when the team needs you, you have to be there. I think we don't focus on ourselves in our country. We give it our all for the country. Even if we don't have one hand. We will just go for it. I saw how Asghar came to play four days after his appendicitis operation in Zimbabwe. So if I have 10 percent chance, I will go for it. I love my country, and I want the country to win, rather than myself," he added.
The team started off the tournament strongly after winning a game against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh each, only to close the group stages by losing the return fixtures. However, the captain is confident that the team can pull off what will be their first multi-national tournament win involving a Test-playing nation.
"We won two and lost two in the league phase. We have to take positives from it. Those things are gone. We have to focus on the final tomorrow. We have to do the basics right, and not repeat the mistakes of the last two matches. We want to repeat what we did in the Dhaka matches. The most important thing is that we are in the final," the spinner signed off.