Rashid Khan Fires Warning To Cricket Australia, Threatens To Opt Out Of BBL

Afghanistan all-rounder Rashid Khan will reconsider participating in the 2025 edition of the Big Bash League (BBL). This comes after Cricket Australia (CA) indefinitely postponed their three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, which was scheduled for August at a neutral venue.  CA later clarified that they made the call after consultations with the Australian government because of "a marked deterioration in human rights for women and girls" in Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. Breaking his silence on CA's stance, Rashid said he was " really hurt" by the board pulling out of the T20Is.

"It does hurt you. You do want to play against the best teams and that's where your cricket is going to improve more and more. You only get the opportunity playing against them [Australia] in the World Cups, but not in bilateral series," Rashid was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

Rashid felt that the series would've been a big learning curve for Afghanistan as playing against top-ranked teams would be hugely beneficial for the growth of the sport in the country.

"Recently, we played three T20s against India, and it helped us a lot. We nearly chased 200 [212] against India. Imagine if you wouldn't have played that, where would the confidence come from? Playing against big teams is huge for us," he added.

Rashid also opened up on his BBL future. He said: "You don't want to play with my colleagues and you want to play with me. So what's the difference? It means I'm putting my colleagues down as well. My country down as well."

For the unversed, this was the third time CA had chosen not to honour a bilateral engagement with Afghanistan.

In 2021, what would have been the first Test match between Australia and Afghanistan, was postponed. Last year, an ODI series was called off.

Meanwhile, Rashid is currently playing for Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Topics mentioned in this article

Afghanistan Australia Cricket Team Rashid Khan Cricket