Rashid Khan claims declining citizenship offers from India, Australia

KARACHI: Afghanistan's star all-rounder Rashid Khan has claimed he turned down citizenship offers from India and Australia and a chance to represent the countries in international cricket.

The 27-year-old all-rounder made the revelation in his upcoming autobiography, titled Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom, highlighting his firm commitment to continue representing Afghanistan at the international level.

"I received such offers (citizenship and playing) 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,'" Rashid is quoted as saying in the book.

Although the former Afghanistan captain did not share many insights into the Australian approach, he narrated the Indian offer extensively, revealing that it came while he was representing Lucknow Super Giants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by a "high-ranking official" of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).

Rashid then went on to admit that the conversation with the BCCI official caught him off guard, but he declined immediately.

"I went over and greeted him. We started talking, and he said: 'The situation in your country (Afghanistan) is very bad. Come stay in India. We will give you Indian documents, live here, play cricket here.' I was surprised by what he was saying and didn't know how to respond. But I smiled and said, 'Thank you very much. I am playing for my country, Afghanistan'," Rashid recalled.

It is pertinent to mention that Rashid has been one of the leading figures in Afghanistan cricket since making his international debut in 2015. He has represented the Asian side in six Tests, 117 ODIs and 115 T20Is in his glittering career thus far.