Key points
- Historic wicket achieved against UAE in Delhi
- Arfan’s dismissal sealed milestone moment
- Rashid leads all-time T20 wicket charts
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan created history on Monday by becoming the first bowler to claim 700 wickets in T20 cricket.
The landmark was achieved during Afghanistan’s T20 World Cup match against the UAE in Delhi, when Rashid dismissed Muhammad Arfan in the 16th over of the UAE innings — his final over of the spell.
Rashid began the match with 699 wickets and had been waiting to reach the milestone. He picked up wickets number 698 and 699 against South Africa last week but went wicketless for 3.2 overs against the UAE before finally breaking through.
Most wickets in T20 cricket:
- Rashid Khan (Afghanistan) — 700*
- Dwayne Bravo (West Indies) — 631
- Sunil Narine (West Indies) — 613
- Imran Tahir (South Africa) — 572
- Andre Russell (West Indies) — 508
He conceded 17 runs from the 20 balls he bowled, before Arfan attempted a reverse sweep, missed the delivery completely and knocked over his own stumps, handing Rashid his historic 700th wicket.
Despite the achievement, Rashid kept his celebrations muted, with Afghanistan still needing victories and favourable results elsewhere to secure qualification for the Super Eights.
T20 wicket-taking
Rashid remains far ahead of other bowlers in overall T20 wicket-taking. Retired West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo is second with 631 wickets, while Sunil Narine sits third with 613.
He is also the leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals. The milestone wicket was his 191st for Afghanistan, with Tim Southee (164) and Ish Sodhi (162) next on the list.
The achievement had been a major talking point ahead of the tournament. Before the match against South Africa last week, Rashid said, “700 wickets—whatever the achievement is, it will continue. I have not set a target to stop at 700… When the team needs it, I take the wicket.”
Although Rashid has not been at his peak since back surgery in 2023, he recently demonstrated his quality in Afghanistan’s series win over the West Indies, taking five wickets while maintaining excellent economy.
In Afghanistan’s opening World Cup match against New Zealand, Rashid returned figures of 1/36 as New Zealand successfully chased down 182.
