Rashid says they 'wanted to make people back home happy' after Afghanistan reach semis
“We wanted to make people back home happy, that was the discussion we had and everyone did a wonderful job," Rashid said in the post-match interview.
Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan reveals his team wanted to bring joy back to his war-torn country with a victory over Bangladesh and qualification into the T20 World Cup semifinals for the first time in their history, and that is exactly what they did on Monday.
"We wanted to make people back home happy, that was the discussion we had and everyone did a wonderful job," Rashid said in the post-match interview.
The opening combo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran has been a big reason behind Afghanistan doing well in the tournament with the pair scoring 100-plus run partnerships three times so far, more than any other batting pair.
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"In T20s if you get a good start, it helps us in the middle overs. They have given great starts to us in the whole competition. It makes it easier for us to go harder at the batsmen. They have delivered, they were very clear in their minds," he explained.
There was rain from time to time in the match and it eventually was curtailed to 19 overs in the Bangladesh run-chase and at one moment, Gulbadin Naib appeared to have cramps out of nowhere when Afghanistan were ahead of the DLS par score when the rain came.
It looked like a very tacky way to waste time at that moment and the commentators were visibly upset at the behaviour and when play resumed and Gulbadin came on to bowl, commentator Ian Smith called him "The eighth wonder of the world" jokingly.
"Rain is something not in our hands but mentally we knew we have to play 20 overs and take 10 wickets. That's the only way we could win. But Gulbadin he had some cramps. But his wicket was invaluable to us," Rashid said.
The mercurial leg-spinner added that people in Afghanistan would be very happy with the result but also felt his players should enjoy the occasion when they take on South Africa in the first semifinal on Wednesday.
"It's a massive celebration back home. It's a big achievement for us as well. We have done that at U-19 level but at this World Cup, I don't have any words to describe the feeling back home. We have to go into the semis with a very clear mind and make sure we enjoy the occasion," he concluded.
