Afghans painted in red, green and black cheered from the sidelines of the Champions Trophy cricket in Lahore and from in front of their televisions in Kabul on Wednesday, brushing aside calls for England to boycott the match.
The 26-year-old MI Cape Town spinner went past Dwayne Bravo's tally of 631 wickets when he bowled Dunith Wellalage in the SA20 qualifier 1 against Paarl Royals on Tuesday.
Leg-spinner Rashid Khan took six wickets in a row to put Afghanistan on the verge of victory in the series-deciding second Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Sunday.
The 26-year-old missed Afghanistan's most recent Test matches on medical advice to heal a back injury for which he underwent surgery earlier this year.
Both cricketers took to X to urge the Taliban to reconsider their stance and restore Afghan girls' right to education, enabling them to contribute to the nation’s development.
Three of Rashid's brothers also tied the knot on the same night.
Aiden Markram's calm innings helped South Africa avoid suffering a series clean sweep by Afghanistan with a seven-wicket victory in the third one-day international in Sharjah on Sunday.
The win sealed the series for Afghanistan, who had registered a first ever triumph over South Africa in the format after winning the opening ODI on Wednesday by six wickets.
Afghanistan registered another emphatic victory over South Africa on Friday, beating them by 177 runs in the second one-day international to take an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series in Sharjah.
Rashid Khan showed his frustration during the final over of the first innings with an outburst that has earned him a sanction.
Rashid Khan's rise to become a multi-millionaire cricket superstar began in the most desperate of circumstances as a refugee living in the Pakistan city of Peshawar.
Afghanistan have realised cricketing history in reaching the final four of the mega event, edging out Bangladesh in one of the most dramatic T20I contests of all time.
Cramped-up Glenn Maxwell's incredible double-century helped Australia snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in ICC 50-over World Cup in November, leading to Afghanistan falling just short of qualifying for the semi-finals.
They have done it. If Afghanistan's group stage domination of New Zealand wasn't quite impressive enough, try Australia in the Super Eight.
The Australia-Afghanistan T20 World Cup Super Eight clash at the Arnos Vale Ground in Kingstown today is potentially a must-win contest for Rashid Khan and Co as a defeat will see the Afghans hoping for other outcomes going their way in order to qualify for the semis.
A high-flying Afghanistan will look to secure their entry into the Super Eights of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup as they take on Papua New Guinea (PNG) in a Group C fixture at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad today.
“T20 cricket is all about the mindset. As long as you have the right mindset and you have the belief that you can do it, anything is possible.”
A young Afghan side with an average age of just 25 have vowed to give audiences back home rare cause for jubilation at the T20 World Cup after a breakthrough performance at the 50-over showpiece.
This will also be Rashid’s first time captaining the team in a T20 World Cup and the skipper would definitely be keen to make a statement in the USA and the Caribbean.
