Following a 0-2 defeat to Bangladesh in the ongoing 3-match T20I series, Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said that he isn’t worried too much about the outcome of the series.
The 27-year-old is keen about his team’s long-term success over the short-term preparation. It means that the Afghan skipper has set his focus for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in 2026.
Afghanistan, under Rashid’s captaincy, failed to progress from the group stages in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2025.
Although not disappointed with the recent performance, the Afghan skipper made it clear that his team would take the series against Bangladesh very seriously.
A Perfect Balanced Side for Next T20 WC? Rashid Khan’s Opinion
Ahead of the opening clash against Bangladesh in the 3-match T20I series in Sharjah, Rashid Khan attended the press conference on October 02:
“Exactly, I believe the same! Every game is highly competitive for us. It’s not that we didn’t play competitive matches in the Asia Cup. But, to repeat the same, all matches are competitive.
We have a target and are here not just to have fun, enjoy, and then return. Our target is to build a perfect and balanced side for the upcoming T20 World Cup. This has been our mindset from now on,” Rashid Khan said.
Rashid Khan is Not Worried About His Team’s Losses
No matter if Afghanistan wins or loses, Rashid Khan believes that his team can become well-prepared for the World Cup by learning from the failures:
“Speaking honestly, we haven’t played many T20Is as a team. Ahead of the tri-series, we played the T20 World Cup around 7 to 8 months back. But to recover from that, we need to gather as a team, which is indeed a time-consuming process.
From now on, we are well-prepared, and losing doesn’t matter to us. We hope to become a highly strong team for the World Cup, and that is our main target.
Right now, if we just win and don’t lift the World Cup trophy, that would be more disappointing for me,” Rashid added.
Remarkable Achievements in World Cup 2023 and 2024
Rashid Khan further went on to give examples of how his team became stronger in the ODI World Cup 2023 and the T20 World Cup 2024:
“Yeah! Suppose we lose now, we are certain to get better and stronger for the forthcoming World Cup, and it has happened in the past, too.
If you recall our performances before the 2024 T20 World Cup, we used to lose too many matches. But we returned stronger and qualified for the semi-finals. It was indeed a huge achievement for us.
Likewise, in the 2023 ODI World Cup, we lost three consecutive matches to Pakistan in the bilateral series. Speaking about our World Cup campaign, we had a poor start by losing our first two matches against India and Bangladesh. But we went on to defeat the best teams like England, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
So, there is something we need to learn from our past as well as from our failures. And that itself is a challenge for us and a big target,” the Afghan captain said.
Learnings From the Asia Cup 2025 Failure
Rashid Khan believes that his team now needs to learn from the failures after a lackluster Asia Cup 2025 campaign:
“YES! We play games to win, but we lost in the Asia Cup 2025, which we had prepared a lot for. But what to do, it’s the game’s nature.
You always need to learn from your mistakes, and this white ball series (against Bangladesh) serves as the best opportunity for the next T20 World Cup. All we need to do now is just maintain focus on how to become perfect for the forthcoming high-profile tournament,” Rashid voiced his opinion.
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‘Second Best Side in Asia’? Rashid Khan Opens Up About the Tag
Rashid Khan, interacting with the reporters, dismissed the tag of Afghanistan as the second-best team in Asia:
“Of Course! There has been talk that we are the second-best team in Asia, which is one such tag that we haven’t claimed for ourselves.
The main reason for this label is due to past performances. Taking a look back at the Asia Cup, T20 World Cup semi-finals, and ODI World Cup, we faced defeats against top-tier teams.
But one thing should be remembered that we triumphed over England in the Champions Trophy. Suppose, if we don’t play well in the future, our rankings would be dropped to third, fourth, fifth, or even much lower.
Our target is to improve our skills. Sometimes it may or may not work, which is called cricket. It becomes important to maintain your hunger to perform and aim for the best results at all times. Remember, the tag ‘Second-Best in Asia’ was created by the media and not us,” Rashid Khan concluded.
