Tracking Rashid Khan’s Journey to Top-Ranked ODI Bowler, Records And Other Things You Need to Know About The Afghanistan Spinner
The spinner was recently named as Associate Cricketer of the Year 2017 at the ICC Awards.
As Afghanistan defeated Zimbabwe 4-1 in the One-Day International (ODI) series, spinner Rashid Khan climbed eight places up to take the joint-first place along with India’s Jasprit Bumrah. Both Khan and Bumrah are tied at 787 rating points. With it, the spinner becomes the youngest ever number one in men's rankings history across formats. Against Zimbabwe in the five-match ODI series, Khan scalped 16 wickets and that helped him take the top spot. Before Khan, Pakistan’s Saqlain Mushtaq was the youngest bowler ever to top the rankings and he was 7683 days old. The Afghanistan spinner has bettered him and is 7092 days old.
However, Khan has not played a single ODI yet against a major Test-playing nation. He has featured in 37 ODIs and has played against the teams like West Indies, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, Ireland and Scotland. His wickets tally reads at staggering 86. Interestingly, the joint-top ranked ODI bowler, Bumrah has also played 37 matches and has picked 64 wickets. Apparently, they have come against major Test-playing nations.
Rashid Khan vs Jasprit Bumrah Records
| Player | Matches | Inns | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wkts | BBI | Ave | Econ | SR | 4 WKT | 5 WKT |
| Rashid Khan | 37 | 35 | 298.3 | 18 | 1141 | 86 | 7/18 | 13.26 | 3.82 | 20.8 | 4 | 3 |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 37 | 37 | 309.5 | 19 | 1440 | 64 | 5/27 | 22.50 | 4.64 | 29.0 | 3 | 3 |
Rashid Khan team wise wickets
| Opponents | Matches | Innings | Wickets | BBI |
| Bangladesh | 3 | 3 | 7 | 3/35 |
| Ireland | 12 | 12 | 30 | 6/43 |
| Scotland | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2/19 |
| West Indies | 3 | 2 | 10 | 7/18 |
| Zimbabwe | 17 | 17 | 37 | 5/24 |
Top 5 best bowling figures in ODI history
The Afghanistan spinner also features in the list of top five best bowling figures in ODIs. In 2017, Khan picked 7/18 against West Indies at Gros Islet. It happens to be the fourth best bowling figures ODI cricket’s history. The spinners bowling performance also helped Afghanistan win the match by 63 runs.
| Player | Figures | Economy | Opponent | Venue | Year |
| Chaminda Vaas | 8/19 | 2.37 | Zimbabwe | Colombo | 2001 |
| Shahid Afridi | 7/12 | 1.33 | West Indies | Providence | 2013 |
| Glen McGrath | 7/15 | 2.14 | Namibia | Potchefstroom | 2003 |
| Rashid Khan | 7/18 | 2.07 | West Indies | Gros Islet | 2017 |
| Andy Bichel | 7/20 | 2.00 | England | Port Elizabeth | 2003 |
Associate player of the year
The spinner was recently named as Associate Cricketer of the Year 2017 at the ICC Awards. In 2017, Khan picked 60 wickets which is a record for an Associate player in a calendar year. Out of those 60 wickets, 43 came in ODIs only.
Khan’s journey has been parallel to Afghanistan cricket’s growth on the international stage after he made his ODI and T20I debut in 2015. He continues to be the most expensive Afghan player in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for INR 4 Crores at the IPL 2017 auction. Recently, at the IPL 2018 auction, SRH bought him back using Right to Match (RTM) card for INR 9 Crores.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 21, 2018 08:39 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).