Afghanistan’s star spinner Rashid Khan on Saturday (March 5) stated that national duty is his first and foremost priority and he will always choose it over franchise cricket.
Rashid was part of the Lahore Qalandars squad in the recently concluded PSL 2022 but he joined his Afghanistan teammates just before the series against Bangladesh.
While reports were doing the rounds that he could leave the series midway to be with the Qalandars for the PSL final, but Rashid ended the speculations with a tweet.
"It's not about work or not work, national duty is national duty. You do well for the national team or you do bad, that is different thing, that is something which is not in the control of the players. But overall I think wherever I go and wherever I play, when there is national team (commitments), I have to be there,'' Rashid quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.
"When my national team is on tour I have to be there and I have to be ready to play. It's not about if I'm effective or not, my presence will give the message to all the youngsters that there is no bigger thing than national duty. Whatever happens, you have to leave that and you have to come to national duty.
"I am here because of my national team as Afghanistan has taken me to this position. If the Afghanistan team was not there, I don't know where I would be, I don't know what I would have been doing, but Afghanistan has given me all the respect all the name...I have to respect that and I have to be available for my team anywhere, any time,'' he further said.
For Rashid, playing international cricket back home in Afghanistan is a bigger dream than winning the World Cup and he is looking forward to the special day in the future.
''Playing in my own country is my biggest dream. That is a bigger dream than winning the World Cup for my team. Playing in home conditions - you know when were playing and we saw the support for the Bangladesh team - that is different feeling. I want that same feeling in my country as well and I think it is the dream of every player...I hope it happens soon, when we are playing international cricket. It's a dream of a country and dream of every player," said Rashid.
(With Cricbuzz inputs)
