ICC World T20 | Twitter reacts to Rashid Khan ‘assaulting’ teammate Fazalhaq Farooqi after intense death stares
Showstoppers in sports are known for their competitive streaks and the desire to win. Rashid Khan is the modern epitome of such figures in cricket and his will to succeed was evident after he did not hold back on his Afghanistan teammate Fazalhaq Farooqi following the latter’s previous misfield.
Despite a disappointing finish to their batting innings that saw Afghanistan only manage 144/8 after a stable start, they are slowly inching their way back into the game against Sri Lanka with some clinical bowling display at the ongoing T20 World Cup in Australia. Disciplined efforts from the bowlers have seen them restrict the Sri Lankans to 63/2 after 10 overs and the wickets of the two openers have ensured a stagnancy in the run rate.
However, their talisman Rashid Khan was of the stern opinion they should have earned that second wicket a tad earlier as was evident in his actions at the Gabba on Thursday. Coming into the attack on the eighth over of the innings, the spinner was cut towards backward point on the second ball of the over by Kusal Mendis. The Sri Lankan wicket-keeper batsman rushed for a single providing a window of opportunity for Afghanistan to effect a run-out, only for Fazalhaq Farooqi to fumble when collecting the white Kookaburra and letting it go to waste.
While the incident seemed pretty harmless considering it was barely a half chance, Khan was left incensed and gave a stretched out death stare to the pacer to express his disappointment. The 24-year-old was clearly struggling to keep his frustration in check as he signalled to Mohammed Nabi to deal with the level of fielding by Farooqi and then continued with the death stare after the next ball as well. However, things did not peak until the penultimate delivery of the over.
In an attempt to sweep, Mendis top-edged the ball for an easy catch to wicket-keeper Rahmanullah Gurbaz, eliciting celebrations from the Afghans. As they huddled up and Farooqi approached Khan to congratulate him, the spinner burst out in a rant before grabbing hold of his teammate and bashing him on his head. Twitter was quick to spot the incident and immediately took to the internet to express their amusement.
He's angry for sure
— MINI BUS 2022 (@minibus2022) November 1, 2022
What was that!
— MINI BUS 2022 (@minibus2022) November 1, 2022
Too impressed
Not sure Rashid Khan is overly impressed with his short third fielder #AFGvSL #T20WorldCup
— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) November 1, 2022
Superstar
Rashid Khan is a superstar. It's a pitty that Afghanistan didn't get to play their first 2 games. Surely could have beaten Ireland atleast. #AFGvSL
— Sanket (@sankulyaa) November 1, 2022
Best in bussiness
Rashid Khan. Best in the business. Brilliant to watch.
— Mitch Halley (@MitchHalley) November 1, 2022
Ha ha!
Rashid khan 😂
— Sai Prasad (@saiprasad_45) November 1, 2022
Action hero
Rashid Khan loves a superfluous commando roll more than an 80s action hero
— disgraced wellness blogger (@DrYobbo) November 1, 2022
Trump cards
Rashid khan and Mujeeb Ur Rahman are trump cards for Afghanistan.#SLvsAFG
— rare.rips (@PankajMarathe99) November 1, 2022
Destroy opposition
Rashid Khan will destroy lanka
— jack (@johnmar74440222) November 1, 2022
Our only hope
Our only hope now is a perfect fielding effort#T20WC2022 #AFGvSL
— Sayed Salateen (@Afguerrilla) November 1, 2022