Rashid Khan got the man of the match award, and his performance was instrumental in Hyderabad's victory against Kolkata at Eden, which helped them to qualify for the Final against Chennai Super Kings on May 27.
Imagine, a player scores quick-fire runs, takes few wickets, effects a run-out and pluck some catches, will it be fair to say that he single-handedly won the game for his team? Maybe yes. It was just that kind of a night for the leg-spinner Rashid Khan, a.k.a the Afghani Magician.
Performance
Rashid Khan scored 34 runs from 10 balls and ended the match with bowling figures of 4-0-19-3. In addition to this, he also effected a run-out and took two crucial catches in the last over.
Rashid Khan is undoubtedly, the best bowler in the world. In T20 he is unbeatable. What a talent from Afghanistan !!! @rashidkhan_19
— Rahul Dravid (@Im_Dravid) May 25, 2018
Khan's brilliant performance throughout the season has prompted fans on the social media, especially on Twitter, to ask for a honorary Indian citizenship for the 19-year-old spinner from Afghanistan.
Some fans even went far enough to mention Sushma Swaraj, the Minister of External Affairs and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, demanding citizenship for Rashid Khan.
Read: KKR vs SRH second qualifier live stream online on Star Sports, Hotstar
Sushma Swaraj replies to tweets
Sushma Swaraj took notice of these tweets and decided to reply to them. She said that the issues regarding the citizenship are handled by the Ministry of Home Affairs. She admitted that she had seen all the tweets on Rashid Khan.
Rashid khan our pride pic.twitter.com/9N7t7f5cHi
— irfan stanikzai (@Irfan_khan111) May 27, 2018
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani tweeted some kind words for the spinning wizard.
He thanked the Indians for providing the Afghani Cricketers a stage to showcase their talent and said that Afghanistan takes pride in their hero. The President even added that Rashid is an asset to the Afghanistan and World cricket and Afghanistan is no way giving away Rashid Khan any time soon.
Afghans take absolute pride in our hero, Rashid Khan. I am also thankful to our Indian friends for giving our players a platform to show their skills. Rashid reminds us whats best about Afg. He remains an asset to the cricketing world. No we are not giving him away. @narendramodi
— Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) May 25, 2018
There were also praises from various other stars.
Sachin Tendulkar called him the best spinner in T20s currently, as famous leg-spinner Shane Warne himself complimented the young bowler via Twitter for his outstanding performances.
Rashid khan dedicates MOTM award to blast victims pic.twitter.com/7W7R0QApf2
— Cricpidia (@cricpidia) May 26, 2018
The Afghanistan cricketer got a Rs 9 crore contract from the Sunrisers Hyderabad team at the IPL auctions earlier this year, and it is safe to say that he had done his job perfectly, by picking up 21 wickets from 16 games.
It will be interesting to see if Khan can put up another show in the Final of the VIVO IPL 2018 against Chennai on May 27.
Give Rashid Khan, Take Our Kamaal Rashid Khan. 🙏 #KKRvsSRH #SRHvKKR https://t.co/1r3PM2CxMK
— Sir Ravindra Jadeja (@SirJadejaaaa) May 25, 2018
Also read: 2018 IPL Playoffs: Schedule,TV Telecast and Star Sports Live Streaming
