Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan remembers his meeting with Indian legend Sachin Tendulkar during the 2023 ODI World Cup, including his words of wisdom which impacted the team. Ahead of the Afghanistan vs Australia match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, Tendulkar had an extended session with the Afghan players on the eve of the match on November 6 as well.
Rashid Khan shared in an interview with ESPN Cricinfo: “That was kind of a dream for every player that he [Tendulkar] came in and gave us that time. He didn’t only come for about five or ten minutes. He was there for the whole session and that was the beauty. And we have learned a lot from that experience. But what was more important for me was that he told us he admired the skills of everyone and what we had achieved, that you guys are capable of beating any side – like we did, beating England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in the World Cup.”
However, Rashid Khan also revealed that Tendulkar shared his insights on the Wankhede Stadium which helped them against the Australia match. They did exceptionally well, scoring 291/5 in 50 overs. and put the Aussies under pressure with 91/7, but Glenn Maxwell smashed a magnificent 201* off 128 and helped Australia win by three wickets.
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“The advice he gave and the ideas he shared about the wicket helped not just the youngsters, but everyone. The knowledge he gave about Wankhede really helped: as a bowling unit, he said, go harder in the first five to six overs because you can take advantage of the conditions that are favourable for bowlers. For the batters, he said, take it easy in the initial five to six overs. He said it was fine to take time because once the top order was settled, we can accelerate score big runs,” further added Rashid Khan.
However, Rashid Khan further shared how even an appreciation post from Sachin Tendulkar on his performance made a massive difference and became an energy booster for him as well.
“Even for me, whenever I perform a little bit and a tweet comes from him, that gives me so much energy. It makes a huge difference, as it did against Australia for us as a batting unit scoring 291 against them. What was also special was he had one-on-one chats with some of our players, including Ibrahim Zadran, who scored a hundred against Australia, the next day,” concluded Rashid Khan.
