Cricket
oi-Madhuri Adnal
Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has said that he received an Indian citizenship offer along with the opportunity to play international cricket, but chose to stay with Afghanistan.
The details are part of the book Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom, written by Mohammad Haand Jafar, which documents his journey and key decisions through his career.
Afghanistan cricketer Rashid Khan revealed in ‘Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom’ that he declined an offer of Indian citizenship during the 2023 IPL, choosing to continue playing for his national team.
Rashid Khan Indian citizenship offer and decision
In the book, Rashid says he was approached with an offer that involved staying in India and continuing his cricket career there.
“I received such offers 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,'” he is quoted as saying.
The book places the India interaction during the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League, when Rashid was playing for Gujarat Titans.
According to the account, a team representative informed him that a senior official from the Indian cricket board wanted to meet him. During the interaction, he was told that the situation in Afghanistan was difficult and was offered the option to stay in India with documents and continue playing cricket.
Rashid declined and said he would continue to represent Afghanistan.cr
Rashid Khan Indian citizenship offer during IPL phase
The book notes that this was not the first time Rashid’s nationality became a topic in India. During the 2018 IPL, when he was with Sunrisers Hyderabad, a standout performance brought similar conversations into focus.
In a match against Kolkata Knight Riders, he scored 34 runs off 10 balls and took three wickets, playing a key role in the result.
Following that, several users on social media tagged then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, asking if he could be granted Indian citizenship.
Swaraj responded at the time saying that citizenship matters are handled by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani had also reacted during that period, stating that Rashid was a matter of pride for the country and would remain Afghan.
Rashid later acknowledged the support and maintained that playing for Afghanistan was not a decision he would change.
The book traces his rise from Nangarhar to international cricket and notes that he had missed an Afghanistan Under-19 trial early in his career. He went on to become one of the country’s leading players and was named ICC Player of the Decade in 2020.
The account underlines that despite opportunities from other countries, Rashid chose to continue with Afghanistan, keeping his international career aligned with his national team.
