Rashid Khan Rejects India and Australia Citizenship Offers, Chooses Afghanistan Loyalty

Rashid Khan reaffirmed his loyalty to Afghanistan despite lucrative international offers from other countries.

Former Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan has revealed that he received offers from both Australia and India to switch national allegiance, but firmly declined them to continue representing his homeland.

The leg-spinner shared the details in his upcoming book Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom, where he recalled being approached informally during the 2023 IPL season.

“I received such offers (citizenship and playing) from both Australia and India. But I told them, ‘If I don’t play for my country, I won’t play for any other country either,'” Rashid is quoted as saying in the book.

India Approach During IPL 2023

Rashid elaborated more on the approach from India, which happened while he was representing Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League. According to him, a team official informed him about a meeting request from a senior member of the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

“I went over and greeted him. We started talking, and he said: ‘The situation in your country (Afghanistan) is very bad. Come stay in India. We will give you Indian documents, live here, play cricket here.’ I was surprised by what he was saying and didn’t know how to respond. But I smiled and said, ‘Thank you very much. I am playing for my country, Afghanistan,'” Rashid said.

While he chose not to go into detail about the Australian offer, the Afghan star made it clear that his commitment to his nation was never in doubt.

Rashid Khan’s Loyalty Rooted in Pride and Journey

Rashid Khan’s dedication to Afghanistan has been widely acknowledged over the years. Back in 2018, during his time with Sunrisers Hyderabad, he delivered a stunning all-round performance against Kolkata Knight Riders, scoring 34 off 10 balls and taking three wickets.

The performance triggered calls from fans in India for him to be granted citizenship, even drawing a response from former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

At the same time, Afghanistan’s then President Ashraf Ghani labelled Rashid as a matter of national pride, underlining his importance to the country.

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The book also traces his inspiring journey from the streets of Nangarhar to becoming one of the world’s finest T20 cricketers, including his rise to being named ICC Player of the Decade in 2020.