Afghanistan teenager Rashid Khan was an unstoppable force on Friday, 25 May as he tore through rivals Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the all-important Qualifier 2 of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.
At one point of the see-saw battle, popular television commentator Harsha Bhogle exclaimed, "I think Rashid Khan could discover a new planet in the solar system or a new element in the periodic table today."
Not just Bhogle but the entire cricket fraternity, including batting legend Sachin Tendulkar, was raving about the Afghanistan teenager, who was single-handedly outclassing Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at their own backyard.
When the situation called for, Khan evoked the batsman in him and smashed 34 off 10 balls to help the Sunrisers post a par score of 174 on the board. At 138 for 6 in 18 overs, the situation was looking grim for the Sunrisers.
Dream night at the Eden for Khan
However, Khan walked in and wasted no time before swinging the momentum in favour of the Sunrisers.
In the penultimate over of the innings, Khan tore into young Shivam Mavi, hitting two big ones and carried on his demolition job, collecting 18 runs in the final over against pacer Prasidh Krishna.
With the ball, Khan, as usual, was nearly unplayable. He took out the danger men of the likes of Chris Lynn, Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell to knock the wind out of KKR' chase on Friday. Backed by some excellent captaincy from Kane Williamson, the Afghanistan leg-spinner proved a nightmare to the opposition batsmen.
Khan never let his intensity slip as he was buzzing in the field as well. The youngster affected a runout and took two catches.
Awestruck by Khan's all-round effort, cricket fans on social media were showering praises on the exciting Afghan talent. A few Indian fans even wanted an Indian citizenship for the top-ranked Twenty20 bowler.
That is when Sushma Swaraj, the Minister of External Affairs, stepped in and came up with a witty response to fans' request.
"@rashidkhan_19 – I have seen all the tweets. Citizenship matters are dealt with by Ministry of Home affairs," Swaraj wrote on Twitter before deleting the tweet on Saturday morning.
Screengrab of Swaraj's deleted tweet.
@SushmaSwaraj ...Maa'm by any chance can we give Rashid Khan the citizenship of India??#SRHvKKR
— Secret Santa (@Secret_Saanta) May 25, 2018
Is there a way to get Rashid Khan Indian citizenship and get into the Indian team? #KKRvsSRH
— avtar Singh (@vickynijjar74) May 25, 2018
Let's all sign a petition for getting Rashid Khan Indian citizenship.#SRHvCSK
— Bertrand Zobrist (@AB_arpit) May 22, 2018
Khan was certainly "The One Man Army" for the Sunrisers at the Eden Gardens as they pipped the Knight Riders to seal a spot in Sunday's IPL 2018 final at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai where they will be facing Chennai Super Kings.
