On This Day: Birthday of Afghanistan legend and ace spinner Rashid Khan

September 20, 1998- birthday of Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan, who made his international debut for his nation at the age of only 17 and became one of the most prolific spinners in international cricket.

Now, he is 26, captain of Afghanistan, and is considered the legend of Afghanistan cricket. He is one of the first few Afghan cricketers who gained the superstar status. He is someone who can produce a huge amount of spin; his ability to generate pace on the air often proved enough to trouble the batters, accompanied by his venomous googly.

Rashid was just 17 when he made his ODI debut on Afghanistan's tour of Zimbabwe in October 2015. Three years later, in 2018, he became the youngest cricketer to top the ODI bowling rankings, the youngest man to captain an international side, and the fastest to 100 ODI wickets. Afghanistan quickly climbed up the international cricket rankings and became a Test-playing nation.

Read More: Devdutt Padikkal scores 150 runs during IND A vs AUS A 1st unofficial Test in Lucknow

In every format, Rashid Khan left his mark

During their first Test victory against Afghanistan, Khan took five second-innings wickets. When they defeated Bangladesh in a Test match, Rashid again played a pivotal role behind the infamous win. He scored a fifty and took a total of 11 wickets to secure the win. As of now, in 6 tests, the ace spinner has 45 wickets in his bag. In One Day International cricket, the spinner claimed 199 scalps in 114 wickets at an economy rate of 4.24.

And in T20 Internationals, the star Afghan cricketer took 173 wickets in 103 matches at an amazing economy rate of 6.12. Because of his exceptional skills, Rashid became a top pick for multiple franchises of various T20 leagues. So far, he has taken part in 12 different T20 leagues across the globe, including the Indian Premier League.