Abu Dhabi, Nov 7: Afghanistan’s premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan picked up his 400th wicket in competitive T20 cricket during the team’s T20 World Cup match against New Zealand here on Sunday.
The 23-year-old spinner reached the milestone when he bowled New Zealand opener Martin Guptill with a wrong’un in the ninth over of the Kiwi innings, even as the batter tried to go for a slog sweep at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium. Rashid achieved the feat in his 289th T20 match. Only three other bowlers have crossed the 400-wicket mark in T20 cricket.
Dwayne Bravo, the first to reach the feat in 364 matches, also became the first bowler to cross 500 T20 wickets. The West Indies all-rounder, who has just announced his international retirement from the format, has 553 wickets from 512 matches.
Rashid also holds the record for most T20 scalps in a calendar year, having picked a staggering 96 wickets in 2018. His economy rate of 6.34 is second behind West Indies’ Sunil Narine among bowlers who have played 200 T20 games. (PTI)
