5 Afghanistan players to watch out for as they move towards Test cricket

#1 Rashid Khan

Take a bow Rashid Khan, take a bow

Seven wickets against the West Indies, a giant IPL contract, a revolution in leg-spin, record-breaking statistics and one of the reasons his country has made it this far. At 18 years old. Eighteen! To be fair, he looks more a middle-aged man than a teenager, but his rise to the top has been shocking.

He has 63 ODI wickets at 15 runs a wicket at just 4 runs an over, 42 T20I wickets at just 14, going at under 6 an over. Who is this kid and why is he so good? He’s something else, he’s Shahid Afridi on cocaine.

With the ability to turn the ball both ways, and bowling good lines and lengths at speeds north of the 95kph mark, Rashid Khan is unplayable on his day. And his day comes often. In the IPL, against some of the best players of spin, some of the biggest hitters in cricket, this teenager shone through, perplexing just about everyone.

He has the ability to rip through batting lineups for fun, grinning all the while. And he can bat too.

In two ODI matches versus the West Indies, he took 10 wickets as he delivered spells that were pure spin bowling gold. He is Afghanistan’s greatest find, and they need to know how to develop him because he will win them matches against the big boys. He will need to be taken care of by the ACB, before he’s taken to jail for his gross crimes against batsmen, everywhere.