Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan breaks silence on ‘second-best in Asia’ tag

SHARJAH: Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan has dismissed the notion that his team is the “second-best side in Asia,” clarifying that such labels come from external voices and not from the players themselves.

Speaking to reporters, Rashid addressed the persistent media chatter surrounding his team’s ranking in Asian cricket. “There’s always talk about us being the second-best team in Asia, but that’s not something we claimed ourselves,” Rashid said. “That label came because of our past performances. If you look back — Asia Cup, World Cup semi-finals, ODI World Cup — we’ve beaten some top sides. Even in the Champions Trophy, we defeated England. Of course, in the future, if we don’t play well, we could slip to third, fourth, fifth, or lower,” he added.

The all-rounder also emphasised that the team’s focus remains on improvement and maintaining the right mindset. “Our goal is simply to improve as a team and deliver on the day. Sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t — that’s cricket. What matters is staying hungry to perform and aiming to get better every time. The whole ‘second-best in Asia’ narrative is just something the media has created, not us,” he concluded. Web Desk