People forget 10 good days and conveniently remember one bad outing: Rashid Khan
Southampton: "People forget 10 good days and conveniently remember that one particular bad day", says Rashid Khan of the criticism that came his way after he recorded the World Cup's worst bowling figures in a forgettable outing against England.
To top it all, there was also a mocking tweet by Iceland Cricket, a nation that is yet to find its feet in the sport.
Used to being showered with accolades for game-changing performances, the ignominy of recording World Cup's worst-ever bowling performance (9-0-110-0), against England, has been a humbling experience for the world's top spinner.
"I am not thinking too much about that match. People forget 10 good days and conveniently remember that one particular bad day. They don't like to remember what Rashid did on previous 10 days," Rashid told PTI in an exclusive interview on the eve of their match against India.
Rashid is the world's number three bowler in ODIs and tops the T20 chart.
"I would focus on the mistakes I committed in that match and rectify those in the coming matches. No point thinking about the criticism. I need to keep things simple," added the 20-year-old, putting up a brave front.
Asked if his relationship with skipper Gulbadin Naib has strained for voicing his displeasure at change of captaincy, Rashid said, "Neither do I play for Gulbadin nor for the cricket board (ACB) but for Afghanistan".
Rashid and Afghanistan's other superstar Mohammed Nabi had raised objections when Gulbadin replaced Asghar Afghan as the skipper for the World Cup, something that didn't go well with the country's cricket board.
Following five straight losses, plenty of conspiracy theories are floating including Rashid's relationship with Gulbadin.
"I think there is no problem in my relationship with Gulbadin. I support him as much as I did when Asghar was the captain. If I supported Asghar 50 per cent on the field, Gulbadin has my 100 per cent support," he said.
"Right from time we landed in England, no one has spoken about the issue. I think it was blown out of proportion by the media. Some of us have been playing together for 15-16 years. So if nothing has happened in more than decade, then what can suddenly change in a day or two."
But when it comes to his take on change in captaincy, Rashid chose to stick to his guns.
"Neither do I play for Gulbadin nor for the cricket board. I play for the flag, for Afghanistan. I know what my job is and I will continue doing that.
"That tweet by me or Nabi, wasn't in support of Asghar. We raised our voice for the betterment of Afghanistan cricket," the 20-year-old spinner, who is an important member of IPL team Sunrisers Hyderabad said.
Rashid calls it a principled stand and not against any particular individual.
"Had someone else been appointed captain, my stand wouldn't have changed. That wasn't the right time to change the captain. I have nothing personal in supporting Asghar. I am not the only person who's saying that. The whole world is saying that," he said.
Rashid then explained why he felt that the time was not appropriate to change captaincy.
"We were going to play a big event like the World Cup. The combination didn't seem like Asia Cup and if you tinker with the combination before a big tournament, it's not a great thing. That was the reason for the tweet," he said.
He did acknowledge that not playing enough games against big teams has been a huge factor for the Afghans.
"Actually, we haven't played a lot against teams like Australia and England and that pressure is also there. In a stage like World cup, suddenly the pressure increases manifold when you play against big sides and that can affect the performance," Rashid reasoned.
"This is the first time, we played South Africa in an ODI. We played New Zealand and Australia after 2015 World Cup. If you play a team once in four years, you are bound to face problems. As players, we understood we need to work harder."
He did accept that Afghanistan need to work on their bowling.
"As a bowling unit, we need to do more. Yes, we have been struggling in pace bowling department. I think we need to have proper 140 kph plus bowlers. We need these bowlers in these conditions. It's not that we will get these kinds of bowlers in a year. It will take time," Rashid signed off.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
