Rashid Khan was offered Indian citizenship, but his reply is stealing attention. Here's what the Afghan cricketer said

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan once received offers to switch countries and continue his cricket career elsewhere, including a proposal linked to India, but his response has now caught fresh attention after being revealed in a new book. The account highlights how the cricketer chose to stay with Afghanistan despite opportunities from larger cricketing nations.

What the book reveals

In Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom, author Mohammad Haand Jafar writes that Rashid was approached with offers of citizenship and the chance to represent other countries, including India and Australia.

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"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, as per PTI.

The IPL meeting he did not expect

Rashid, who represents Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League, recalled a moment during the 2023 season when a team official arranged a meeting with a senior figure connected to the Board of Control for Cricket in India.

"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 said.

Not the first time his loyalty made news

The book also recalls an earlier episode during the 2018 IPL season when Rashid, then with Sunrisers Hyderabad, delivered a match-winning performance against Kolkata Knight Riders. He scored 34 runs off 10 balls and picked up three wickets.

Soon after, social media posts in India called for him to be granted citizenship, with users tagging then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

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Replying to those messages, Swaraj had said: “I saw all your tweets. But citizenship matters are dealt with by the Ministry of Home Affairs.”

A matter of national pride

The discussion also drew a response from former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani, who described Rashid as a source of national pride and made it clear he would not be allowed to represent another country.

Rashid later thanked him and repeated that he would continue to play for Afghanistan.

The book follows Rashid’s journey from Nangarhar to international cricket. It notes how he once missed an Afghanistan Under-19 trial before rising through the ranks.

He later became one of the team’s key players and was named the ICC Player of the Decade in 2020.