At the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, Rashid Khan
actively participated in the Afghan team’s huddle as it tried to rally
themselves for a 272-run defence against a strong Indian lineup. He wasn’t
involved in the real attempt, though, to make the target appear larger than it
actually was on the surface.
As the final of the skipper Hashmatullah Shahidi’s six
bowling choices, he was finally brought on to bowl when India were 125 for no
loss in 14 overs with Rohit Sharma batting on 88 off 52. Or to put it another
way, the game was effectively ended. The bowling ace of Afghanistan only gave
up 10 runs in his first two overs and terminated the 156-run opening stand in
his third with his trademark googly. He also got rid of Rohit, but not before
the Indian skipper gave the game’s closing moments a fitting ending.
It wasn’t just one attempt that failed. Prior to last
night’s game, only two of Rashid’s overs had come in the PowerPlay since the
year’s beginning. Afghanistan didn’t need him during that time period either
because they possessed Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Fazalhaq Farooq, the latter of whom
was third in wickets in the first 10 overs since 2022 behind Mohammed Siraj and
Matt Henry.
Head coach Jonathan Trott for one ceded that the team
would reconsider the trend of holding back the ace spinner. “I didn’t hold
him back. I think, Yeah, I think it’s just a case of – when Rash… I always
want to feel like, certainly in that instance, you want to get him into the
game as soon as possible,” Trott said after the defeat.
“You know, the captain obviously had a feel or a
gut feel that he wanted to go with, and that’s the case. I think that’s a
captain’s prerogative. And I think there is a case maybe when the ball gets a
little bit older for Rash to bowl with it, and it gets a little bit more turn,
it doesn’t skid on as much. So, there’s six of one half a dozen of the other.
But certainly, you want a guy like Rash in the attack as soon as possible. So,
it’s always something we’ll look at.”