Rashid Khan’s entry has created ripples in the world of cricket, similar to how legendary spinners like Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Anil Kumble did in their prime. Whether in international or franchise cricket, Rashid has staggering statistics. The 19-year-old Afghan prodigy has starred in almost every league in the world. Batsmen like Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers struggled to face his deliveries and with Afghanistan’s Test debut coming up against Bangladesh, his current form is the talk of the town.
However, Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer feels that his teammate Calum Macleod is a much better player than others to play against Rashid. Macleod scored 157 against Afghanistan in World Cup Qualifier 2018 fixture and tackled Rashid with ease. Coetzer also feels that Macleod should be picked by franchises as he can play spinners well.
Here’s how the heated conversation between Coetzer and others went —
@calummacleod640 scored 150 against this attack hitting Rashid at 8 an over (on a spin friendly wicket). Pretty much the only person in world cricket 2 do this to date. Few better sweepers of the ball in the world. Madness that franchises/teams don’t sign him up @CricketScotland
— Kyle Coetzer (@MeerGoose11) June 6, 2018
Ahahaha!!!
In that match Rashid was a captain and mmmm captaincy has some pressure.
Afghanistan is Mujeeb hit Rashid 2 back to back 4 in the ipl match so we can’t say Mujeeb is a class batsman.
Sometimes Low team can beat Top team like you did in WCQ but at the end we are in.— Arif Dost (@arifdost16) June 6, 2018
There is slight difference back to back 4’s by Mujeeb compared to a 150 not out. A 150 is not luck!!! I’m afraid you have no argument here @arifdost16. Captaincy Pressure is an overrated excuse, did @calummacleod640 not have pressure facing the #1 ranked bowler in the world??
— Kyle Coetzer (@MeerGoose11) June 6, 2018
Lol are you joking sir ,Zaheer Khan hit sixes to Bret Lee many times it doesn’t mean Zaheer Khan plays or dominates Bret Lee better , it was a fluke he blindly sweeped Rashid those who sweep spinners he doesn’t know how play spinners ,they know one dimensional way to play
— HITESH YADAV (@Yadav_Hitesh_) June 6, 2018
Blindly for 10 overs?! I’m out
— Tim Cutler (@timcutler) June 6, 2018
one dimensional !?!?! Haha it makes it an even more sensational innings if Calum scored his runs if he was blind. To be clear the sweep shot is a method to play spin, a lot of players in the world wish they could play it as convincingly as Calum. Simply a great innings!!!
— Kyle Coetzer (@MeerGoose11) June 6, 2018
Rashid is currently No. 1 T20I bowler and No.2 ODI bowler. He is the second-fastest bowler to take 50 T20I wickets and is currently dominating Bangladesh batsmen with 7 wickets in two T20I matches already. But the Afghan spinner went through a rough patch in World Cup qualifiers as he was made the captain of the side after Asghar Stanikzai’s exit from the tournament.
Rashid has even got branded as the best leg-spinner in the world by legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar. But, Coetzer feels that with an average of 34.95 in ODIs and 20.37 in T20Is, Macleod is a better pick for franchises despite the presence of a few other leading batsmen in world cricket.
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The 29-year-old batsman from Scotland isn’t the only one who took Rashid on successfully. Windies opener Chris Gayle struck Rashid for 4 sixes in a row while playing for Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018. A single innings, a bad day or a good one does not nullify consistent performances over a long period of time.
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The leg-spinner will be tested against India in Afghanistan’s maiden Test later this month. On the other hand, Scotland will play a one-off ODI against England and two T20Is against Pakistan followed by a tri-nation series against Netherlands and Ireland later this month. Macleod will carry a lot of hopes on his shoulders with these many fixtures coming up.
