Conditions never bother me, I focus on my skill-set: Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan

By PTI

MUMBAI: Star Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan says he is never bothered about conditions, never puts on himself the pressure of performance and just focuses on his own preparations and skill-set while competing.

Khan, one of the most successful cricketers that Afghanistan has produced, will ply his trade for new-entrants Gujarat Titans in this IPL beginning on Saturday, having played for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the previous editions.

The upcoming edition will be played largely in Mumbai, where the conditions would suit spinners, but Khan said he does not think on those lines. “Actually, I have played a lot in Dubai. As spinners, Mumbai will offer you turn and bounce and you need that. I never think about conditions a lot, but the important thing is your preparation and I always focus on that,” Khan said in a virtual interaction with media on Tuesday.

“My mindset is never that everything depends on me and I have to win matches for my team. When you start thinking about all these, your game gets affected. I like to keep it simple and I just want to give my 100 per cent effort in every match. The results are not in my control but I can always control the effort and process. I have never taken extra pressure,” the leg-spinner added.

A lot changed in his home country after Taliban took over to rule the strife-torn Asian nation and Khan said it posed a different challenge for Afghan people and the cricketers.

“Well, yeah, definitely, different challenges at different stages. It all makes you eventually stronger and it gives you so many things to learn. It is kind of a motivation for me to do good for my country. Lot of things have changed, but I should not change my mind and game,” he said.

“The IPL is a big stage so you have to be mentally strong. I will try to share my experiences with players in the team and I will try my best to impart the knowledge I have gained after playing in this tournament for four-five years,” he added.

Khan smartly avoided the question when asked which IPL team is his favourite but did admit that playing under legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni is something he dreamt of. “I am currently playing for Gujarat Titans so this is my dream team. I will strive to do my best, it is a huge honour for me to play with Gujarat Titans and playing under Hardik Pandya, will be a different experience. Every player has their dream of playing of under MS Dhoni, but right now I am playing for Gujarat Titans, so it is a huge honour for me,” he said.

Khan said it will be not be possible for him to talk about the spinners in his side since he has not started doing practice with them since he was still in quarantine. He also asserted that change of team does not affect his own game.

“Cricket is same, just the team has changed. I don’t think about it much. I just try to adjust. I have played with Vijay Shankar, Saha in this team. I will play with same mindset and confidence. I focus on my skills. We (He and captain Hardik Pandya) are good friends. I am looking forward to play with him. It will be interesting. I will start practicing with him to read his mind. I am so excited,” he said.