Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan became the first cricketer in history to take 700 wickets in T20 cricket during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 group stage match against the UAE national cricket team at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Monday. Rashid reached the milestone in the 16th over of the UAE innings when he dismissed Muhammad Arfan who was off the wicket when he attempted a reverse sweep.
Arfan departed scoreless, facing two deliveries, as Rashid finished with figures of 1 for 24 from his four overs, helping Afghanistan restrict UAE to 160 for 9 in their allotted 20 overs after electing to field first. With Arfan’s dismissal, Rashid created the historic landmark of 700 wickets and achieved the feat in just 513 innings.
T20 World Cup: Afghanistan vs UAE Highlights
The wrist-spinner boasts a remarkable average of 18.51 and an economy rate of 6.59 with four five-wicket hauls. At just 27 years of age, Rashid has largely avoided competition when it comes to wickets in the shortest format. Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is second on the all-time wickets list with 631 wickets. Sunil Narine is closest to Rashid among active players with 613 scalps, ranking him third overall.
Rashid also leads the charts in T20 Internationals with 191 wickets. Retired New Zealand seamer Tim Southee is second with 164 wickets, while compatriot Ish Sodhi is third with 162.
Afghanistan remain alive in the tournament
Meantime, Afghanistan beat UAE by five wickets to register their first win in the FIFA T20 World Cup 2026. Chasing a target of 161, Afghanistan were rocked early as they lost Rahmanullah Gurbaz (0-2) and Gulbadin Naíb (13-12) in the power bowl. However, Ibrahim Zadran held the innings together with a fine half-century (53 off 41). Later, Darwish Rasooli (33 off 23) and Azmatullah Omarzai (40* off 21) led their side over the line with valuable contributions.
After their first win of the tournament, Afghanistan climbed to third in the table with one win from three matches and will next face the Canadian national cricket team in their final group match on February 19 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
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Issued by:
Rishabh Beniwal
Published on:
February 16, 2026