Rashid Khan wishes for featuring in more Test matches

Afghanistan's bowling mainstay, Rashid Khan, has expressed his unrequited desire of playing more Test matches. In an exclusive interview with Reuters, the leg-spinner mentioned the role of Test cricket in honing a player's skills.

Afghanistan received Test Status in 2017, along with Ireland, but they have only featured in six Test matches ever since. Rashid has been a globetrotter, playing in T20 leagues worldwide, but the Gujarat Titans player still longs for donning Afghanistan's jersey against big teams in the longest format of the game.

Besides a sparsely congested calendar year, Afghanistan has also been victim of the circumstances. 

Citing the Taliban's opposition to women's cricket, Cricket Australia had cancelled the one-off Test against Afghanistan in November 2021. Unable to control the situation, Rashid Khan rues missing out on the opportunity of testing his temperament against the Aussie batting lineup.

 "We all were looking forward to it, but sometimes things do not go your way. So I hope we get the opportunity to play them soon."

Rashid explained the importance of playing more Test matches. He can enhance his craft only by bowling long spells against established batters.

He dwelt on the experience he had gained from playing franchise cricket all across the globe. 

"Wickets and conditions vary from country to country. So you have to think differently, which adds something extra to your game."

"That experience makes you mentally very strong. It has helped me a lot."

Rashid also spoke about getting better as a lower-order batter. While bamboozling top-notch batters with his leg spin, he has proved to be a dependable batter in the lower order. However, he wishes to contribute more with the bat in hand.

"I think I can be a much better batsman than what I am now," Rashid said.

"I should be someone taking more responsibility in that department as well. Instead, I keep working on my batting.