Rashid Khan captained Afghanistan to semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Rashid, who turned 28 on Sunday, September 20, was replaced as captain by opener Ibrahim Zadran after Afghanistan failed to advance past the group stage of the 2026 T20 World Cup. However, the latter's career as Afghanistan's T20I captain didn't get off to a great start as Shreyas Iyer's India crushed his squad 0–3.
“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 told Cricinfo in an interaction.
Despite the 2026 T20 World Cup blip, Rashid had a respectable record as Afghanistan’s T20I skipper and had guided them to the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Rashid led Afghanistan in 48 T20Is, winning 26 and losing 22.
“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," the star cricketer added.
The three-game T20I series against India was Ibrahim Zadran’s first as full-time T20I skipper, which he lost 0-3; on the other hand, Rashid Khan took four wickets in the series, conceding 113 runs at an economy rate of 9.82.
“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 believe we cannot beat them and will always struggle against them," Rashid said.
The two teams will now move to Japan to play in the Asian Games 2026.