Rashid Khan and George Linde. (Photo by SA20/Sportzpics/Gallo Images)
He acknowledges that he might have scalped a few more victims or whipped up a few late runs, but Afghanistan superstar and MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan believes the SA20 is on track to become the second-most franchise T20 tournament. big after the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Cricket South Africa (CSA) had expressed this lofty, but eminently possible long-term goal, from the start and the success of the inaugural edition has simply emboldened that view.
Even as his team’s campaign crashed and burned after a promising start, Khan, with a broad smile, crudely held up his thumb and forefinger to indicate the class gap of the two tournaments.
“It’s really not too far off, to be honest,” he said after a 76-run messy loss to Joburg Super Kings at Wanderers on Monday night.
“It’s only the first year and I already think it’s a great achievement for CSA. It will become a massive tournament as the years go by.”
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The top-class player especially highlights that the great strength of the SA20 is already discovering and molding the most prominent young players in local cricket.
“There are going to be a lot of young talents coming up and I think it will inspire them to change the look of the domestic game here,” Khan said.
“South African cricket is going to look completely different in the next few years. The tournament itself is going to grow enormously.”
Meanwhile, Khan is not going to book his teammates for a campaign that failed despite a roster that features the likes of Dewald Brevis, Rassie van der Dussen, Sam Curran and Jofra Archer.
He specifically pointed to the congested schedule and lack of time to consolidate as a unit as mitigating factors, while also revealing that he never expected any player to deviate too far from their natural game, even when results began to take a turn for the worse.
“I made it clear from the beginning. It really doesn’t matter what happens in the end, never change your skills and mindset. That was an important point for me,” Khan said.
“It’s not easy to come into a new franchise and find your way right away. It takes time. We never put undue pressure on anyone to score runs or take wickets. It was just about honing the skills and sticking with them.”
“As veteran players, we tried to take most of the responsibility, while giving everyone the freedom to play and express themselves.”
