Rashid cleared to play in ‘home fixture’ against Australia

Australia’s chances of posting a massive total against Afghanistan in Friday’s T20 World Cup match have suffered a late blow after star leg-spinner Rashid Khan was cleared to play.

Rashid, the world’s No.1 T20 bowler, got the green light to play on Thursday after twisting his knee in Wednesday’s match against Sri Lanka.

Friday’s match at the Adelaide Oval is also almost a “home fixture” for Rashid who has been a committed Adelaide Strikers member in the BBL since 2017.

Afghanistan’s assistant coach, Rais Ahmadzai, said on Thursday that: “He‘s fine now. He is very good and he’s participating in the net session so he’s OK.”

“Everyone is okay and we want to finish the tournament with some positive things.

“It‘s not going to be an easy game for us to play against Australia in these conditions but they will be under pressure because they want to win,” he said.

Rashid, nor the Afghan team, has ever played a T20 international against Australia. But for the star bowler, he is no stranger to Australia’s players and according to Australian cricket commentators he has been at the center of every discussion about what the team needs to do to win.

“I reckon everyone would have played him a number of times over the years in either BBL or IPL, things like that,” Australian skipper Aaron Finch said.

“Each guy will have their own individual plans but I certainly wasn’t expecting him to miss. I’d be surprised if he did.”

A star performer for the Adelaide Strikers in Big Bash League, Rashid will be right at home on the spin friendly wicket, where he once claimed a hat-trick.

The 24-year-old has over the past six seasons of BBL become so beloved by fans in the South Australia capital that he was reported to have joked that Friday’s match in Adelaide might effectively be a “home” fixture for his team.

“Whenever I have played at the ground, I have got so much love and support from the fans,” Rashid told reporters prior to the start of the World Cup last month.

“Definitely there will be support for Afghanistan and we won’t feel that we are playing in Australia, we will have that feeling that it’s a kind of Afghanistan home game.

“Some other players in our team were discussing that, (saying) ‘Rash, … will the Strikers fans be supporting you, or Australia?’.

“That’s the kind of questions that were going on in the team,” Australia’s cricket.com.au quoted him as saying.

Adelaide Strikers coach Jason Gillespie, who has forged a strong bond with Rashid has observed first-hand the reasons why the irrepressible leg spinner and entrepreneurial lower-order hitter has become such a local favorite.

“The reason he’s been embraced is obviously his skills and what he does on the field, but it’s also the way he goes about things, how open he is and how engaging he is with our fans and the wider community,” Gillespie told cricket.com.au.

“He’s always got time for people, and his genuine enthusiasm for playing for the Adelaide Strikers has really endeared him to everyone in South Australia.

“I’m very confident that when Afghanistan play they’ll get some really strong support, not only through the Afghan community in South Australia but across the wider cricket community because Rashid’s played such a big role for the Adelaide Strikers,” he said.