![\"IPL](\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-130432793,imgsize-161542,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/rashid-khan.jpg\" "\\"Gujarat")
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nNEW DELHI: Rashid Khan<\/a> is the world\u2019s number one bowler in both T20 and ODIs today, as per the ICC\u2019s latest rankings. But the spin sorcerer from Afghanistan \u2014 also a crowd-pulling megastar across the cricket world \u2014 was rejected at an under-19 national selection trial, says a new biography. It was the summer of 2016, and despite the punishing sun, the teenager had lined up along with thousands of hopefuls from the strife-torn country\u2019s different parts at the Ghazi Amanullah Khan stadium, about 15 kilometres from Jalalabad town in eastern Afghanistan.Dawlat Ahmadzai and Abdul Wali Amin, two reputed ex-cricketers who were coaches for the Afghanistan Cricket Board, were assigned with the talent spotting task, says the farm-fresh book, \u2018Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom,\u2019 written by Jafar Haand.<\/p>\n Watch<\/span><\/p>\n Venugopal Rao explains the key decisions which helped DC beat RCB<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. <\/span>SUBSCRIBE NOW!<\/a>The wait was long and Rashid, witnessing an open trial for the first time, was eager to showcase his wares. The book vividly recounts what exactly transpired.One of the coaches asked him if he was a batsman or a bowler. Rashid answered that he was an allrounder. But the youngster was told that he could choose only one of the two slots: bowler or batter.Forced to make a pick, Rashid turned for advice to the friends accompanying him. \u201cI spoke with my friends and chose batting as a preferred option out of the two roles. They agreed that it was the right choice. I faced three or four balls, hit two, and missed the rest. The coach said, \u2018That\u2019s it. Thank you for coming,\u201d the book says. Rashid had been rejected.Interestingly, both of them would later go on to coach Rashid. And incidentally, as per ICC ranking\u2019s current update, the leg break and googly bowler from Nangarhar province is also rated as the world\u2019s No. 7 allrounder in ODIs and No. 14 in T20Is. That\u2019s because the world\u2019s foremost white-ball bowler has the rare gift of getting into instant big-hitting stride and winning games for both country (Afghanistan) and clubs worldwide, including IPL<\/a>\u2019s Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans.IPL addicts would recall how Rashid\u2019s six-hitting, in tandem with David Miller<\/a>, pulled off a sensational heist against CSK in April, 2022. The cricketer recalls the excitement when he received a message from coach Ashish Nehra to be the stand-in skipper for GT in place of the injured Hardik Pandya.\u201cKhan sahib, get ready. You will captain the team tomorrow. Pandya cannot play,\u201d the message said. \u201cThat night, I couldn\u2019t sleep,\u201d Rashid recalls. \u201cNot because I was nervous to captain, but because I couldn\u2019t believe it was happening. An Afghan player would go for the toss in the IPL against Chennai! I kept thinking: people will remember Afghanistan\u2019s name in a different way,\u201d he says in the book, originally published in Pashto as \u2018Rashid, Khan of Cricket\u2019.On that day, Rashid made history as the first Afghan to captain and win a match in the IPL. \u201cMillions of viewers across India and beyond saw an exciting match and a new image of Afghanistan, led by Rashid\u2019s calm, smart leadership. It became a moment of national pride for Afghans everywhere,\u201d Haand writes.<\/div>\n