T20 World Cup 2026: Afghanistan has enough skills to beat any team, says Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan is looking to move past labels like ‘underdogs’ and ‘upset’. As Afghanistan prepares to face New Zealand in its T20 World Cup 2026 opener, the skipper has made it clear that his side is no longer here to just participate – they are here to make a mark.

“That’s just the media discussion, we never talk about those things. It’s good for the media. It’s something which nowadays is just a kind of rules and regulations; you give different names to different teams,” he said.

“Ten or 12 years ago, you wouldn’t have thought that Afghanistan would have reached the semifinals, and even for us, just participating in the World Cup was the biggest thing. But now it’s not just about participating; we have enough skills to beat any team,” he added.

READ | Tricky start awaits New Zealand against Afghanistan

The driving force in Afghanistan’s success over the years has been its ability to produce quality spinners, including the captain himself. With 187 wickets in T20Is and close to 700 wickets overall in the format, Rashid has been excelling at the top for quite a few years now.

But the depth that Afghanistan possesses beyond Rashid is commendable. With Mujeeb Ur Rahman, part-timer Mohammed Nabi and the up-and-coming Noor Ahmad in the ranks, the competition is immense.

“When you have competition, you will try your best, you will work very hard. Anybody from Afghanistan who wants to play for Afghanistan as a spinner knows what it takes to compete with a Rashid, a Noor or a Mujeeb. I feel like if we get that kind of competition in the batting unit as well, we are going to go to different levels,” he said.

“I think if you are not performing, you have to step back and give a youngster who has more hunger than you the opportunity to perform,” he added.

Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner spoke about being “used to” being in tough groups. The Kiwis, apart from Afghanistan, will have to fight for a Super 8s spot with 2024 runner-up South Africa.

“I guess we’re used to (being in tough groups) now. Same as last time. Every team in this pool, especially Afghanistan and South Africa, are obviously great teams. We’ve seen Afghanistan’s recent success, not just against us, but throughout the last World Cup. So, we know what we’re going into tomorrow,” he said.

Santner also revealed that all 15 players that are part of the squad are fit to take the field. “I think we do have all 15, which is nice because in that (USA) warm-up game, we thought we were going to field nine at one stage. I think we’re ready to go, which is good,” he said.

Published on Feb 07, 2026