'Even I don't know what exactly happened' - Rashid on being removed as Afghanistan T20I captain

Rashid Khan says the Afghanistan Cricket Board did not inform him before removing him as T20I captain earlier this year. After Afghanistan couldn't progress beyond the group stage in the 2026 T20 World Cup, Rashid was replaced at the helm by opening batter Ibrahim Zadran.

"Even I don't know what exactly happened at that time," Rashid told in an interview facilitated by Red Bull. "I came to know [about the captaincy change] when the board announced it."

Despite a poor show at the 2026 T20 World Cup, Afghanistan had a positive record under Rashid, including reaching the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-finals. In all, he captained the side in 48 T20Is, of which they won 26 and lost 22. Only Asghar Afghan had a better win-loss ratio as Afghanistan captain but his stint overlapped with a period when Afghanistan used to frequently play against lower-ranked teams.

"Under my captaincy, we reached the T20 World Cup semi-finals, we beat West Indies, but sometimes things are not in your control," Rashid said. "But I have moved on now. Whether I'm captain or not, I'm proud that I'm representing Afghanistan and I'm trying to put to use whatever skills and capabilities I have. What I can control is to do well for Afghanistan and make them win."

The recent three-match series against India was Zadran's first as full-time captain. Afghanistan lost all three games. Rashid picked up 4 for 113 at an economy rate of 9.82.

Rashid spoke to Hindi on captaincy and other wide-ranging subjects. Click here to read the interview.