Afghanistan’s Karim Janat opined on the heated incident involving him and Rashid Khan during their T20 World Cup 2024 match against Bangladesh in Kingstown. He also added that it’s normal for tempers to show up in the heat of a contest and that there’s no ill feeling in the squad as well.

Speaking to Cricbuzz, Janat said, “The ball went to the fielder and we couldn’t get two runs as a result. That is why he [Rashid] was a bit disturbed. And during a match, a lot of things like that can happen. Like the bowlers can get angry if there is a mis-field but the important thing is how you adapt and stay as a unit. There are no issues as far as the unity of our team is concerned. We are like brothers and more importantly we celebrate each other’s success and that is why we did well. We don’t have any ego.”

However, Afghanistan finished with 115 runs in their allotted 20 overs against Bangladesh in a rain-curtailed contest, which proved to be just
enough. But South Africa thrashed Afghanistan in the semifinals. Janat also said that Rashid’s vision is to ensure continuity with the 15 players he has chosen and give as much exposure as possible to the junior players as well.

“When Rashid took over as captain two years ago, he picked 20 to 25 players and he has been carrying them for the last two years. There are young and senior players and he chose the best 15 for the World Cup from that group. And once you carry the juniors with you, they learn something and get comfortable… we will be playing the next World Cup with these young players and they will have learned something and be better prepared,” he concluded.