Twitter was flooded with cricket fraternity, celebrities other prominent personalities praising Rashid Khan for taking Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to the final of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. First, Rashid took SRH to a par total at Eden Gardens with some serious hitting. He scored 34 runs from 10 deliveries including 2 fours and 4 sixes. Then the 19-year-old brought SRH back into the game with a spectacular run out and wickets of star Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) players Robin Uthappa, Chris Lynn and Andre Russell.
Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani too seemed to have his eyes glued to the IPL 2018 qualifier. He praised the Afghan prodigy for his all-round skills and probably also took a dig at India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. After Rashid’s mind-boggling performance, fans on Twitter asked Rashid to be given Indian citizenship.
Sushma Swaraj replied with a tweet saying (the tweet was deleted in a while) –
@rashidkhan_19 – I have seen all the tweets. Citizenship matters are dealt with by Ministry of Home affairs.
— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) 25 May 2018
Here’s President Ghani’s tweet which went viral –
Afghans take absolute pride in our hero, Rashid Khan. I am also thankful to our Indian friends for giving our players a platform to show their skills. Rashid reminds us whats best about Afg. He remains an asset to the cricketing world. No we are not giving him away. @narendramodi
— Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) May 25, 2018
It will be interesting to see whether PM Modi replies to the tweet or not. SRH will go up against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in an attempt to bag their second title win in three seasons.
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Rashid’s form will be crucial if SRH are to beat CSK. They have not been able to get the better of Mahendra Singh Dhoni-led side. They were beaten in the league stages twice followed by a loss in the first qualifier.
