'It's a God-given talent': Rashid Khan on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - and a skill 'barely' seen at such a young age

Rashid Khan on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Rashid Khan has been around the India-Afghanistan rivalry long enough to see the balance changing. Afghanistan are no longer the side simply hoping to push through the bigger teams; now there is a belief in the group that they can defeat them.However, this faith comes with some unfinished business. Ahead of the third and final ODI against India, Rashid sat down with TimesofIndia.com to discuss where Afghanistan still need to improve, pointing to a power play with both bat and ball and the need to develop a mentality to score big.Rashid also watched India’s young players from close quarters. He spent time with Abhishek Sharma at Sunrisers Hyderabad and witnessed the phenomenon of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, two players he believes have the skills to go far in the game. He explains how the pair differ and why Sooryavanshi in particular caught his eye at such a young age.Rashid sees a lot of talent in Afghanistan. Noor Ahmad has already impressed while fast bowler Abdollah Ahmadzai is another name he believes could have a big future.

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Rashid, results aside, what do you think Afghanistan can take away from this series against India? And if you look at both teams, where do you see the biggest difference at the moment?I think we can take a lot from this series. The learning is about how we will use the power play as a hitter and what areas we need to improve. We see the opposition scoring runs and how we manage to score big runs under any conditions, in any situation and against any bowler. So it’s a good learning experience for the youngsters who were part of the team for the first time and it’s a good opportunity for them to learn from it.But I think if you look at the wickets in Delhi, you will always see high-scoring games and having that mentality to score big is something that is so important. So I think we still have a lot of hard work to do in our batting department. Where we can score those big runs, plus as a bowling unit we have to find solutions to play in the power bowl. I think it’s so important.If you’re giving up more than 70-80 runs in the power play, it doesn’t matter if you’re defending 200 or 230. So I think as a team we have to find solutions together and those are the things we take from here and work on going forward.You have played against many Indian sides and also seen different versions of this Indian T20I side. Now what do you think about this team led by Shreyas Iyer with a lot of youngsters coming in?Well, it’s a very dangerous side, a destructive side. One by one someone comes along who is going to be super destructive and we all see that they are capable of scoring. It’s not just about scoring; all have 100 in T20 format. I think that’s something that’s dangerous about this team.Players take the game deep and score great. I mean it’s not like scoring 20-30 and getting out. And they play fearless cricket. I think that’s how it should be in T20 – play fearlessly. More importantly, they have so much skill and I think that sets them apart from any other team.Do you look at any young player and think he will be a very important player for this Indian team going forward?I think Abhishek Sharma. I spent so much time with him during SRH; we were very close at that time and he (always) had such abilities and skills. He’s doing so well with the bat, but I think he’s also a very good bowler. He has this amazing skill where he can mix it up in the middle for you. So I think he is the one who will be a big package for team India in future.Another young sensation who has been doing the rounds is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. You bowled with him and he also made his international debut at the age of 15; but aside from being a talented player, what do you think really makes him that special player?Well, as I mentioned – fearless cricket. And he backs his skills and knows his shots. I think his stroke selection is more important and he knows his game plan against any side, any bowler, at any time.At a very young age, you hardly see such things; it will come with time, but he already has it. The way he plays fearlessly is what makes him unique. And the power he has, hand-eye coordination; I think it’s something very different. You hardly see that in any (other) player. It is a talent from God.And when you see him, does it remind you of a young Rashid Khan, that fearlessness, that freedom that you played?To be honest, I wasn’t that talented at that age, but yes, the skill was there. But I don’t know if I could hit those big sixes the way he hits at that age. But like I said, he is a unique talent and he has shown that not only in the IPL but even in the Indian team, so I think he is someone very special.You saw Afghanistan cricket go from underdogs to a team that everyone actually thinks can beat the best. When did you actually see this change happening and what is the next big step for cricket in Afghanistan?Well, you know, we hardly beat the big teams, but when we started, we started here (in India) in the 2023 World Cup, where we beat England; before that we beat Pakistan in a bilateral T20 series so I think it all started from there and then we beat Sri Lanka and beat Pakistan in the World Cup.We did well in Australia and New Zealand in the T20 World Cup (2024), we got to the semi-finals, so the belief started that we were in a category where we could beat the big teams, so it all started there. But now it’s about us, how we manage it and how we keep it.Ibrahim Zadran now leads T20I side; you have a lot of experience in party leadership. What do you think makes him the ideal choice or someone you look at and say this is the one who can take cricket forward in Afghanistan?One thing I like about him is the hard work he puts in and he is someone who always wants to lead from the front. You need someone like that who is very consistent and very direct,I think he is the type of person who always tries his best to set an example for young people and show them that there is a way. I think he’s a very honest guy, a hard-working guy and someone who has the ability to lead a team and help guys grow with him.And as a senior player, I am always with him to give him the support he needs, but he himself is someone who is hardworking and very honest in his work.You mentioned that you are there as an older man, but from your experience, what is the one thing that you learned the hard way as a captain that you now tell Ibrahim?I learned so many things. Sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself, which is not fair. As a captain, you try to give it your all, and that’s what happened to me.I feel like those are the times when you need to calm down and focus on your game, focus on your skills and focus on your game plan. Don’t think too much about what will happen as a result, but think about the process of how it will be; as long as you keep the process in mind I think you’ll be fine.You are one of the first Afghan cricketers to get this global recognition and now a generation later there are a lot of young players coming up, if I have to ask you if you can pick a few players that the world should watch out for?Few very good, talented players are coming in Afghanistan. Noor Ahmed is doing so well and he is someone who can go to the next level and who can do great performances in the future. Even in the fast cone unit I think that’s an area where we need to improve. But there is one fast bowler, Abdollah Ahmadzai, who is in the team now; he bowls fast. I think if we manage him properly, he will be a very fast bowler and a good future for Afghanistan cricket.You’ve been playing cricket since you were a teenager, so there’s a lot of injuries going on, managing the workload, a lot of cricket, so how is Rashid now compared to the young Rashid, how do you manage the workload?One thing is that I played a lot of cricket, I went from one country to another and played all over the world, but at that time it was good for me because I got experience and I got knowledge about the state of different countries. It really helped me at the time, but when I went in for surgery and stuff, I struggled. I tried to reduce cricket as much as possible.I also recently visited the Red Bull Athletic Performance Center in Austria, which gave me a very clear picture and idea of my body, because I went through so many tests and everything and now I know what areas I need to improve. With the physio and the doctors, I had a very clear idea of how to move forward, what I should avoid and where I should play, where I shouldn’t play, how much cricket I should play.You started in Afghanistan trying to find ways to play cricket; you are now a global superstar. When you look back and where you are right now, what is the one thing that is still unfinished for Rashid Khan?Well, one unfinished business is to win the World Cup for the Afghanistan team. That’s something I’m really looking forward to. We had a great opportunity in the 2024 World Cup (T20) where we reached the semi-finals, but we failed to reach the final. So I think that’s something I would aspire to – an ICC event (trophy) until I play.I think that’s something I want to have in my book, right, an ICC event, whether it’s the T20 World Cup or the 50-over World Cup.