Or not speaking. I play all around the world, everywhere, each in every country, but my hote always remained in Afghanistan and with the people of Afghanistan.
Tax on time.
Hello and welcome to this episode of Ordinarily Speaking. We've all seen the smile of Rashid Khan, the joy he brings to the cricketing world, and the unbelievable skill that has produced well over four hundred t twenty wickets in just over three hundred games. He is a superstar of the sport, with millions of followers on social media. But this is a story about the man, not the star. Rashid's parents were his world. The memory of them continues
to inspire him every day. When Rushid's dad died in December twenty eighteen, his mother urged him to play on through the Greek Only eighteen months later, Rushid watched his mum pass away in front of his eyes. She had COVID and her death came suddenly. In this episode of Ordinarily Speaking, he shares that incredibly personal story for the very first time. The conversation unfolds in the knowledge of Afghanistan's current plight, So the dreams and aspirations that Rushid
holds for his country are met with both hope and heartache. Ultimately, he is a son who desperately misses his parents, and a brother and uncle who wants to take care of his family and keep him safe. I hope you enjoy getting to know Rashid as much as I did. Oh, Rashie, thank you so much for graining to do this with me. I'm really looking forward to getting a better insight into your life and what it's like being you. Before we get stuck into the nitty gritty, I wanted to start
by asking you. The Strikers boys tell me that you take them out for dinners and shout them dinners constantly. What's the most generous thing you've done? And I hear it's usually Afghan restaurants as well, which is pretty cool.
I think in the first couple of three years, we do had those kind of little bit parties and I used to get all the team, you know, to the restaurants and it's all about, like, you know, we just gather and as a team and we enjoy we have that kind of time. You know, we'll get us together as a team and I love to do that, you know, I always do that and since the last two years, you haven't done any because of the COVID and stuff. You can't go outside in the restaurant. But yeah, that
is something which makes me happy. You know, it's not just about cricket. I go everywhere, you know, I just want to make families. I just want to make friends, and I just want to be remembered as a good person, not as a good cricketer. You know, that is something which I mainly focus on. I'm lucky I have such kind of friends and strikers which you know, which they've given me so much love and respect and and we
do have those parties. I miss that. Hopefully everything get back to normal and we keep keep it feeding that you.
And me both. The fact that you pick Afghan restaurants, is it important for you to allow your teammates into a little bit of your culture and your love of Afghanistan?
Definitely, you know, they all we always talk about the Afghan food and in the team, whenever they ask me what you had for lunch or for dinner, I said Afghan food and then they're like, oh why not. Sometimes we go with you and we have the food. So lucky that we have your restaurants in Adelaide as well Avegne. That's going to be it's easy for me to get the food from and yeah, absolutely, you know, we just need to have that kind of culture sharing to understand
each other culture and each other. So it's so important, you know, to know each other culture.
Ye give us an insight into your upbringing. What was it like when you were a little kid.
Yeah, I had a bit quite childhood because I was away from my older brothers. I was in the village with my mom and dad and my brothers. They were in Pakistan, so they were refuge there and my parents were in Afghanistan, so very quiet in Shy. I wasn't quite interested to go to school. You know. I was someone who always wanted to be home and never entrusted in studies and always wanted to be around the parents,
you know, don't want to leave the home. And then they shift me back to Pakistan to study there as a refugee. Yeah. Then my nephews were so much ahead of me in the school and I was just starting from the beginning. I don't want to study in this class. I want to go ahead and sit with them, and and it wasn't allowed to be the way because they said you have to study this and then. So then
I got a few double promotions. Luckily I knew the head and the head of that school, and he said, okay, it's fine, I can do that for you as long as you study hard and you make sure you adjust yourself in those classes. So to be honest, yeah, then I started studying hard and I had English classes then. Then since I was into the schools, I think I was someone who loved the school the most and wanted
to become a doctor. And that's was my dream, and that was my dream of my family, you know, they all had that expectation for me that I will be a doctor in future. I wasn't quite interested in the cricket. Brothers used to play a lot of cricket, but I was just being there with them as a fielder. So I was just feeling for them, not bowling, not bantting, nothing.
So yeah, yeah that's the little duty. So but yeah, I had those skills in talent and me in that time, brothers were like, you're pretty good, Like even in the fielding. You were like, you have so so much energy and
you love this game. But I never like played outside, mostly at home mostly at home because my family were not allowing me to go outside and play with the friends in the streets in the because it wasn't safe at that time and they were like, maybe you know, you might fight with someone, they might fight with you. Situation wasn't as good. We didn't have that kind of facilities. We didn't have that kind of future role models at
the moment like youngsters have. We didn't hide in the future, and that's why they were not allowing me to go and play cricket. So luckily later on I got that opportunity.
So you referenced your nephews there being around the same age as you, So you had eleven there's eleven of you, right, brothers and sisters and you and then how many needs? So hang on, first of all, what's the age gap between your siblings? Do you know?
Yeah, my dad had two wives, so when my first mom she passed away, then my mom, so he married. So from that he has four kids, two daughters and two sons. So they are like in the age of sixty sixty five, you know, my brothers. So from there, my nephews are like my eldest nephew is like forty four forty five, so I'm like even half of his age. And I have nephews, which they have kids. You know, they're in my age.
Like, do you still site to them, I'm your uncle now.
You definitely, you know, they are like older than me. Still they do restract me a lot in there. But I have lots of nephews to be honest, and nieces which which is pretty hard for me to count them. If I count them, maybe it gets two hundred. Really, yeah, seriously, if I count, it's around hundred. Yeah.
So I have five nieces and nephews. I buy them all birthday presents and Christmas presents.
I'm so lucky. You just five or twenty for me. It's so much. You know, it's not about the birthday, you know. Sometimes they need something else as well. Like my nephews, whenever they want something, they don't tell their dad, they don't tell anybody else. They just message me and like, look this is what I need and I just arrange it from here for things for them. So yeah, it's pretty hard. Whenever it's their birthday, I try my best to hire myself and not to pick their car, not
to reply him. And then after two three days, I said, oh, I forgot. I was busy. Yeah, it's pretty hard to arrange the things for them, like, you know, so many gifts and stuff. Luckily I'm not going home, otherwise would have been troubled. Whenever I go back home, I have all the stuff with me. I come back empty. I just have one empty bag and that's it. The rest of the things, everyone takes it from me. My shirts, my jeans, everything, my shoes, everything, nothing. Then I come
back to Dubai and I buy everything new. And that's happened like a few times. Because they all have my brother, they have the same size and everything same and they just take it from me. And I said, okay, I can't say anything. I go with the like seventy eighty kg and I come back like ten kg five kg.
Do you take it upon yourself to look after your family, the extended family?
Yeah, yeah I do. I do love I love it. You know, we're all joined family. I have seven brothers and four sisters, so we all live in like in the same house. We love that. I have a very big house which has which has around twenty rooms, very big. Yeah.
And did you get that fall them?
Yeah, I got one new. But we had that old one before, like before I get into cricket, so we had that big house. So now I got one new home which is Encarble. Hopefully one day we shift to that home as well. So yeah, we we love being together. They all wash the cricket together and when I'm playing, even if it's late as well. In Afghanistan, they still
watch cricket. They don't sleep and they keep sending me all the snaps and videos and stuff, so just to make sure you're watching you and you're doing well.
So yeah, that must have meant a lot to you to be able to provide them with a family home through you know, your earnings from cricket. That must be special.
It is, it is, it's super special. You know. I think hours from a kind of family which financially we are not as much good and we were struggling those days, you know, you know, like in Afghanistan having big families and if you're financially not well as well, then you might be struggling a lot. So I think luckily my brothers they were pretty good and they studied at that time.
They didn't let theirselves down and they work hard and you know, they got us in a stage that we could be able to get whatever you want, you know, as a younger brother, or whenever you want anything, especially whenever I was in a kind of MOVI where I wanted to buy something for the cricket stuff things I needed, bad gloves, baths, you know, I think they were providing me all those things and they were buying for me, and that was something I kind of support I got
from them that time, you know, and that was something which reached me to this stage. You know, they never let me down that no, we can't buy this, that you know, this supported me. They given me that old love and support which I needed. It was pretty hard from the moment dad to get that support because they were expecting me to obey a doctor, not a cricketer.
But later on when they found out I'm pretty good in cricket and I can go ahead in this, then they were like mostly even my mom she became a coach for me, like when she was watching and then she was having a call me three after the game and she was telling me this is what you did growing and this is what and I was like super surprised because she never understand cricket. She never watched cricket, and since I was involved in the cricket, she was interested in it.
What was the advice?
I knew it like this is something I did wrong and she was just like reminding it to me. And I knew it that Yeah, if I bold rang, especially when I was playing against Western Indies anytime, she was telling me just be careful. They are like so powerful and so big.
Oh moms, we love moms. Yeah, you mentioned earlier things weren't safe. What was it like in Afghanistan? And at the time, the.
Thing was that time education I think, you know, we didn't have that people who were mainly focusing on education. And when there is no education, you know, there are some people in that community which uneducated and they can they can harm you, they can hurt you anytime. You know, they don't have that kind of respect for each other. And the safety wasn't there. You know, so many accidents
happened those days. They're in the creek, you know, they fight and even they they used the guns in that time, just during the games, and so that was something so scary, you know, hearing those things those days, and that's why my family was not letting me to go and to play outside. They were like, maybe anything can happen. So
those were the accidents happened those days. That's why it was super unsafe for me to go and play outside with the people who I don't know, anything can happen, And that's why they were like, you can play twenty four hours at home. We don't have any issue with that, but we're not letting you to go outside and play. You know, we don't know what's going to happen. And as I said, so many accidents that didn't allow us to play freely. We didn't have any academies, we didn't
have any professional grounds. It was just like a local places we were playing. So that's why, you know, it wasn't safe for me to play outside and enjoy my cricket.
Did you feel the war around you? Did you know it was there?
Ah, To be honest, it was earlier. But the thing was it become normal for us. We got used to with that situation and in that environment, hearing about someone is skilled, someone dies some on this it was become usual. You know, it's just a normal routine for everyone. That was something which did allow me that, yes, I'm going to do something for my country because I have seen
all those times, tough times and people struggling. I have seen the young generation which way they're going at the moment. They are totally different. They all have that education in the mind, sports in the mind, which I love to see. Those days, no education, no cricket, no sports, nothing, and this was the only thing happening. Like everyone's mind was in negative mind it. They didn't have those positive mindset that what I'm going to do for my country in future.
You know, I'm just not letting myself to be in the same spot as other people. I have to be someone who does thing in the future just to make sure inspire someone and and do something for the young young kids, just to make sure their life is changed. And that's the only way we can change the country. With the education and with the sports. As long as we have these two at the top, I think we can compete any any country in the in the world.
And I think that that the kind of belief I had in the But life was was very hard those days, you know, hearing about those accidents, the blast and things like that, it was scary. But yeah, a couple of times it happened, and I heard the voices of the blast. You know, when I was in in Carbule, I think we were an under nineteen camp and it was one thirty am and a blast happened. And to be honest, it was that loudie that I thought it just happened
inside the cricket board. And we were three guys in the one room, so it was all like you know, blurry in the room. The dust was there in the room, and we couldn't like see each other, you know, like what happened? So sertainly, like five ten minutes. After five ten minutes, there was some noises outside, so many noises outside, and I thought like they might have blasted in the cricket board. They might come now and just like shoot us.
You know, That's that's the kind of thing I had in the mind, the kind of movie I had in the mind. So I just closed the door. I closed the door like this, and I told my teammates just to like, let's see what happens. So after two three minutes, one of the trainers he was calling everyone that it's not here. It's like two three kilometers away from here, and the blasts happened. It's not here, just come out.
So that night we all went outside. We were sitting in the middle of the ground on the wicket and was it happened around one thirty am, and we were in the ground till eight am, so we didn't sleep, like, we didn't come back to the rooms. So yeah, I heard the same I had the same accident again as well when I was in hundred nineteen, so a couple
of times it happened. So yeah, those things were very unusual for us at the moment at the start, but we just got used to be that, you know, and then just become a normal routine.
You say some of that with like a right smile on your face. What's going through your mind when you when you think about those times, because it sounds terrifying.
It is, you know it is. But the thing is, like the only answer for that is just to keep smiling or just to be positive. I don't want to, like, you know, just to be someone give a different image to the country, you know. I just want, like, even in the field, you know, if I'm always trying my best to be someone who smiles or someone who bring lots of energy into the game, just to make sure like make my country proud, you know, just to make sure like people back home. Everyone is watching the game.
Doesn't matter whatever I play, either I play in Australia, in India, in England, whatever I play, they don't miss my games. They watch each and every game. And I think, if I don't do something special in the field, you know, it means I'm not making him rout and I'm not doing something for my country, even a single wicket. They
enjoy a lot. They have so much celebration back home, and we're just trying our best, you know, to bring lots of positive things to the country, just to make sure that people forget what happened in the past, just to give a different image. You know, what are the real people of Afghanistan. You know, I'm here, I'm representing my country and I have to be someone who bring the positive image of my country and positive image of
the youngster. What are their hopes in what are their targets in future and what they want to be in future. So yeah, that's something which I'm trying my best and I hope, I hope and I have that believe in future. You know, the sports, in our involvement in this, in this game, I think this can bring so much positive to my country. And one day I think will be a country will with high educated people and a country who people love to visit and they love to meet the people of the Afghanistan.
I can promise you that when I think of you, the first thing I think about is your smile. The second thing I think about is how well you actually play the game, so your smile is synonymous with not just Afghanistan cricket, but with cricket in the world.
Was it scary, definitely it was. It was so scary. You know when something's happening and you're watching those things on TV while you're at home, and suddenly those things happened in real life with you and you just remind those things, those memories, those things and those footage images comes out in front of your eyes. I think it is scary. It is so scary, but we've got used to with it, as I say, like, it becomes just a normal bit for us. And we feel so sorry
being away from the country. Sometimes you hear about those things again and again, but we as a players, we can't do anything about that. You know, we're just trying our best to do something special just to make sure they forget what happened. Yesterday, what happened the other day, and we bring something positive today, And yeah, it is scary, definitely, even if you think about it, it's scary. And imagine if it happens in front of your eyes and you
hurt the things. I think it's it's it's something. The sound of the blast, it never goes away from your mind. It's always there because that was a different sound and I never ever heard that kind of sound in my life.
Yeah, can you still hear it now when you think when you're talking about it?
Definitely I have those. You know, some accidents never go away from your mind. Some accident never go whenever, unlike you know, something happens back home, I do think about it will be the same voice as I heard. It will be the same as we just hope, you know, things get better and better and we don't see those things in future and just get things back to normal.
Do you worry about your family back in Afghanistan?
Sometimes you do worry about you know, there's definitely you know your family back home and you do worry about them, like you know, anytime, anything can happen. But at the same time, you can't do anything as well. We have that kind of strong mind. You know, if it happens as well, if it happens we I think everyone back home they mentally ready and they're mentally very strong as well. That is something which doesn't allow me to go away from my country, you know that. To be honest, I
can't leave my country. Like I know it's not as safe for me, but still I can't. Like whenever I go, I'm going back home. Everyone is telling me, try to be careful, don't go, but I'm like, I can't leave. You know how you can live without your country, Like if I go anywhere around the world. You you've been in Ipa. Like you see when when when an Indian player coming into the ground, how much love he gets from his fines, how much they're cheering for him in
that time. I think about imagine I'm playing in my home crowd and they're cheering for me the same and how good it would be. And that is something which I want that to hear those noises in future and I have a strong believe in myself that I can I can do in Shallah. If I know we have that positive mindset, strong mind, one day it will come
that we will be a country playing in Afanistan. You will will be hosting international teams and I have that belief that that will happen one day and I want to hear those those noises and I want to hear people cheering for me. Yeah, I heard from every other countries. I heard in in Australia. I mean, I'm playing in Adelte. The love I'm getting from the fans, it's unbelievable, but I want those in Afghanistan as well, and I hope it will happen in future.
It brings a tear to my eye quite literally because it's no but it's such a beautiful Your love for your country comes across so strongly that you know the image you paint of that day one day walking onto a field and hearing.
It's like more than a dream for me. You know, it's a dream of every player to be playing international cricket representing your country. But a dream of mine is see the international team coming to Afghanistan and playing international game. That's that's a dream of everyone back home, and I think that will bring so much peace to Afghanistan.
Sport can can unify people and bring about social change, that's for sure. You mentioned about going home and people say you have to stay safe. What is it like being a really recognizable face going back home. What are some of the precautions you have to take.
Well, actually, it's not something which is unsafe for me because I'm someone and I feel like I'm a good image of Afghanistan. I haven't done anything bad to Afghanistan. I haven't hurt anyone, I haven't killed anyone, and I haven't done anything wrong. And I always make my country proud and people back home, everyone loves me. Everyone gives me so much respect when I go back home. You know, whenever I'm going in the car in Afghanistan, I have seen people they just come across of me. They park
their car and they just say, can't go. They come out. You have to take picture with me, And I have did that in the past. People on motorcycles they come ahead of me just like stop and I get down off my car and I take pictures with them. And that's what they love. They don't care like they take permissions from you just when I say no, because they want they want to meet you, they want to take pictures with you. And it's not about from that point of view that there are some people who hates me,
who wants me. No, No, it's not about that. I just worry about to be safe is that maybe you are in the wrong sport, wrong place, wrong time, and that is something which you worry. Otherwise, for sportsmen there is so much love. As I said, unsafe means maybe I'm in the wrong time, wrong place, and who knows who I'm there, and something happens, something maybe planned for
someone else and I'm there. That is something which we worry otherwise for us, we haven't heard anything about the sports person that they hurt someone, they kidnap someone, they kill someone. No, no, no accident like that happened. As I said, if someone knows that I'm here, seriously, it well be like everyone will be a kind of security person for me, will be a kind of body out for me. That much they they want us to be safe and secure.
Just a big deal that everyone wants a selfie.
With Yeah, yeah, exactly, and it's it's massive. You can't say no to them. You can say no anywhere else, but in Afghanistan you can't say no. They will take selfie. Whatever happens. If it takes one hour, you have to say. You have to stay that much like they are. If you don't, they will hate you the most. That's the that's the thing that they're there. But that's the only thing that I have seen in those people, the love, you know, And that's why I want to play there.
That's why I want to play in front of those people in this crowd.
You're listening to ordinarily speaking with Rashid Khan. Tell me about your dad and what Hay was like to you growing up.
Oh, very strict, someone who always wanted me to study zero or zeno and allmenting any sports. He was someone who angry.
You say this with a small on.
Yeah, what I am at the moment is just because of him. You know, he grew up me in a kind of envolvement. He saved me from outside, you know, to go to be a bad guy in the street. I think he helped me a lot, and he helped all of us, all of our brothers. We're so lucky. We miss him a lot everyone. You know, whatever I am, wherever I am, I think it's all about him. The way he grew up me, in the way he did all the world for me.
Do you reflect now as an adult and appreciate more what your parents did and what they sacrificed for you exactly.
You know. I think what they have sacrifice in sacrifice in the past for us is is massive. You know. They they were in a place when it was war in Afghanistan, a series war. It was there and they were all there. My family was there, my mom and dad. We used to tell the stories and it's so scary. Seriously, it's so so scary. Like I was like, how you guys lived that time? You know, how you guys survived those times. When my mom and dad they're telling us
the stories of their time, it's unbelievable. It's very unbelievable, like the stories they tell us. At the moment, it's ninety percent safer than it was before because they have seen the war. They have seen everything happening in front of their eyes. They have seen when they have migrated from Afghanistan to Pakistan, and they have seen all those tough time. I think that is something which gives me that energy that yes, my family had faced all those
tough times, all those sacrifices, all those things. I think I should make them proud now and I should be someone who does something in future that yes, he should be proud of that. Yes, I have grown up a kid who has done something for the country. And that's something. My dad was so happy about that because he never understood cricket. He never watched cricket. The only thing he was asking what my mom was he won't he lost, That's the only thing he was he was asking her.
Otherwise he was not understanding what I'm doing. I'm a bowl of batsman, no no knowledge. Whenever you when I had a good game, good performance, all my reality, they used to call him and congratulate him, and he was like feeling so proud those days, like look, everyone is scoring, it means you have done something good. So yeah, I think they're all hard work. I'm lucky one that I got this opportunity to make them more and more proud. And I will do that in.
Future as well, even though you're not a doctor.
Yeah, yeah, that was that was something they said. After I got into the cricket. They were like, okay, you have the skills and talent. Especially my mom said, we are happy to have you a cricketive dinner. Doctor.
Now, what kind of stories would they tell you that you that you were just talking about, well.
You know, especially what was happening in the war. They were like going from one place to another place in Afghanistan just to make sure they're safe during the war. And when I was hearing from them, I was feeling so scary. How it's like a movie. You're watching a movie and things are happening in the movie and you think it's a movie, it's not real. But when they were telling us, it was real, like it was a real stories and it happened in front of their eyes.
You know, I lost my relatives in those times and those wars, and yeah, it's it's it's it's something like most of the things they were not sharing, like they didn't want us to be hurt. We had a family which wasn't that much financially good as well, and we were struggling those days. But my dad he didn't let himself down. He just migrated to mix and he lived there for some time and things were getting better. Then
my brothers they weren't there. They lived there, so they came back to Afghanistan because they said, no, we love the country, we love there, we grown up, we born here, so we cannot leave Afghanistan. My brothers were there just to let them to study and just to make sure they have a good future. Yeah, that was something which we were just imagining, like, oh, how hard it would have been, like burning the houses of the people. Things
like that were happening. And recently three years, two years, two and a half years back, I went to my village when my mom passed away, so I had to go and see my village and stuff. So I saw all those places where I was grown up a little bit. And I have seen the house which my mom and dad they were living in that and I've seen that are like, how hard it should I be in those days, you know, living in this place. So yeah, you can
imagine their life, how hard it would be. But we, as said, we are so lucky now to make them more and more proud, and just to make sure that all the hard work they have done for us, all the sacrifices we make sure we pay. We cannot pay that back, but we can make them more and more proud.
They sound like incredible people.
Yeah, I think how strong they were, and even we are not half of that. How strong they were, you know, and you can imagine how how mentally strong there he would have been, and might dad he was like around nineteen ninety five. But he wasn't like looking like that that he he's this age because he mostly worked in the farmer and things like that. He was like very healthy and he never looked like to be that old. And they were the strongest people I have ever seen. Yah.
Did I inspire you when you play?
Definitely? You know. I think those are the things which always gives me energy. You know, I think about those things. It gives me energy. And I think I should never forget. As long as I have those memories in my mind. You know, I won't be someone who failed. One thing was told to me by my mom. Never forget where you comes from. You will go so far. And that is something I always have in my mind that yes, wherever I reach, whatever the performance I do, anything happens
in my cricket career, I'm on the top. She said, the good person. You are the good person. We have grown you up and we know you how good you are. My mom was always telling me you are totally different than all your other brothers. Like you as someone who never give me those bad days. She was telling me, no, never ever, and you always did everything for yourself, coming washing for yourself. Things were doing for yourself. You never
tell me that pack the bags for me. Nothing. You always did everything by yourself, and that was something she was loving the most in me. So yeah, and that's what she said. You have to remain the same how you are. I as soon you forget this, you will in trouble.
Yeah.
Yeah, yeah, that's something I would always have in my mind.
Yeah, I love that. Tell me about the day that you found out about your dad when you were playing for the Strikers. How did you find out and how hard was that moment for you?
It was It was something like unbelievable, you know. I never ever like I was. I was just before the practice tomorrow was the new night game. I took a shower, I came out of my room. I got like fifty calls from my brother. Three brothers they called me, and I was like, I hope everything is all right because they never called me that. Like they called me once. If I don't attend, they say, like he might be busy, he leave me a message, but they would keep calling me.
And I was going back to stadium. So during the drive, I just called my brother. I wanted to I just wanted to talk, and he told me like and that is not okay, you know, like what happened? Is everything good? He said, like he's in ICU and you have to be mentally ready if anything happens. And to be honest, I don't know how to say, like it was like end of the world for me. Like I went like, what happened is? Like I said, can I have a
video call just to make sure I see him? He said, You're not allowed to go into the ICU, and I was telling him like again and again, no, I just want to see him once and I just want to talk to him, like I talked to him like for before, and he talked to me like half an hour, and I said, like I was about to buy for him things from here, so I asked him, what's the shoes number? And he told me that and I was about to buy his shoes for him. So I said, no, I want to see him. I want to talk to him.
And my brother was like, no, you can't because he's an ICO. I was like what to do? And I get into the ground. The guys were there. They were like about to start practice and I sit there and I like crying there and I was like, what's happened? So one hour after I was just in, my brother called me like he's no more and and I don't know,
like it was a totally different feeling. You know, when you are at home, it's different when you have your brothers around, everyone is around, and things happen in front of you, it's different. But when you are here far away and things happen. Because I haven't seen my dad for four years, I never met him in four years. Last time I met him was in two thousand and sixty. And in that when I'm too far and I can't get there on time to see him as well, because
the moment I'm getting everything will be done there. And I don't know, I don't know how how those days went off, but I think Mom was the only person who who really helped me in that day. That night and she kept having that video call with me, and she was like, no, I can't leave you like this. I want to video call you all the time and just to make sure you're okay. Mom was like, if you want to make me happy, you want to make
that happy, you must play tomorrow's game. And I was like, I won't be able even to get into the ground. You know, it's like different feeling, you don't know know, Like she's like, no, whatever the feeling is, you have to go and you have to play the game that will give us so much a bit smile as well and give us a bit of energy inside, and you have to do it and we all support you. So I think, you know, that's something which did allow me
to play that game as well. I wasn't mentally totally ready for it, Like how am I going to go and play a game when that passed away the same night? So yeah, but then I decided, yes, I will play just for you from my family, and yeah, those were the very hard days. And yeah, it's so hard when you're away from home. You hear about this accident and you have nothing to do. You know, hard days just comes and goes, but it never goes away from your mind.
That not am I right in saying that the players really supported you and sort of became like a pseudo family.
I guess exactly exactly. I think the guys those days, they really supported me, especially my teammates. And I mentioned Sid, you know, he came to my room. He was with me in my room till late and he was there. And I think that given me so much calmness and things to smile about it and just to think about the good memories I had with my diary and know
just about those things. And that's why I always kept myself around that family, a striker's family, because they have given me so much love, so much during the tough time I faced, and they have given me all the love and support. And it was hard days I think those guys were. If they were not there with me, I think would have been so hard. Even I was lucky to have Forward that time as well. Forward he was with Strikers, Scotch's team, and he came up as
well that night with me. He was sitting whole night like three am with me till three am and we were just there and lucky he came and as we speak the same language Pashto, so that was something which really helped me that night as well. But yeah, still it was one of the toughest nights ever I had. After a week, I went back home just for one day and do the prayer for them, and I did one day in carbul In, one day in my own village. I've been there, my old family was there.
So how emotional was that it was.
It was so hard, you know, so hard to go back home and without your dad and and and you get into the family. I think it's so so it looks so empty everything, you know, everything was so like meaningless, like even the moment I get to my country. So my little brother, he was someone who was very close to that, and he was so down and like, you know, those days, he was having us so so bad days, and Mom was used to calling me that, please you
talk with him. He's like very unwell and he's so much crying every day and he can't get out of his bed and he's just like there and crying, and you know, I was like okay. So luckily, luckily in those days, I tried to get him Australian viza. So I submitted everything for him, and luckily I got a visa for him. It was so hard here to get a visa, but my team they did a wonderful job that gave him a visa, and then I just booked
a flight for him. I took him to Australia just to make sure, like his mind is, this was his dream to come to Australia, and I wanted to like just give him that kind of time, you know, just to make sure he's a bit fresh. And he spent around twenty days here with me. He had been to every city. I just booked to flights for him every year.
He in all the cities. He enjoyed a lot, and then he went back and just yeah, just wanted to make sure he's good and wellin And Mom was like, you have to take care of him.
Yeah, you're making my big brothers sound really bad. Now I'm going to tell them that they need to pay for me to go to a troop.
And you. And my brother was like, no, I cannot come in the economy. You have to book me a business class and I was like business class he said. I said, why you're young, you know you can come in the economy. He said, no, I have a back problem and he said book me. And it was a funny accident happened those days as well when I booked him a flight. So he came to Dubai. So he said he had a like sixteen hours stay and I told him, look, sixteen hours stay, you can stay in
the airport and then you catch the next night. He said, no, get me Zubay visa. I want to go outside. I was like, book me a room outside as well. I want to go. And I was like okay, I booked a room. I got him a visa, booked a room outside, called my friend there to pick him from the airport, get him to the hotel. He was taken to the hotel, he slept. He went to the Dubai mall as well. And here I be shopping.
Which you paid for.
He said, I will take from you when I come there. I have to. So when he came, I received him in Adelete airport. I got into the car and he's like do you know I said, no, what he said? I forgot my wallet and money in there and Aba hotel and I was like, what how did you do that? He said, I forgot it in the on the bed. And I said, did he chase him? He said no, how I can chase because I was in the flight and I reminded in the flight that I forgot my wallet.
Oh my god, and here is like, I don't have anything now, and he grabbed my card and he was leaving. He gave me empty. He he he had like twenty five thirty thousand money that he has eaten in twenty.
Days twenty thousand Australian.
Twenty twenty five, thirty thousand Australian.
He's had a good holidaye oh my.
He was like buying everything. When he was going back, he had ninety kg. He bought everything for everyone and I was like, this is your first in last three I was like, no, I'm not gonna. And even this year he was talling I want to go. I'm like, no, my card doesn't have that much.
Now that is such a good story a lot.
Of us so funny. I still remind him and I never told this to my elder brother that he has eaten that much money. Never ever.
Now they're gonna want to treat.
That was funny.
What's the longest you've gone from, you know, not being able to get home? And how tough is that not being able to get home?
Oh well, it's it's so hard, you know. I think in two thousand and sixteen eight, you know, I got a bit more busy and I wanted to play more cricket. You know, I was going from one place to another and kept myself busy. I just wanted to my cricket to be more improved.
You know.
I get the kind of experience in different environment different countries, and you.
Got to pay off the credit card bill.
Yeah, I have to have to because I knew that I have a big family. You know, they're gonna take me at any any stage. So yeah, that I had like three and a half years was a long time that I haven't been home when the COVID started. So then I went back home and I had like five months at home, which was the longest, longest time. My mom she got COVID and she passed away as well.
In those days, that was like a different of a couple of months for me, all of a sudden, like she just passed away, and in seventeen days she got sick and she was absolutely okay, like nothing was wrong with her. And we had the best three months together because we spent one month in the bai Way. You
stuck here. We were supposed to go to I was supposed to go to Ipil, so I called my family to come to Dube for a week, and then suddenly the IPIL was postponed because of the cod so we struck in Doba for one month and then the flight was started to Afghanistan, so we went back home to Afghanistan, so she was there with me like three and a half months and then suddenly this happened, and then yeah, it was a very different different two months for me.
Then still people were coming like for two months to my home for the prayer and just to pray for her.
And so your mom died of COVID.
Yeah, she passed away because of cod Yeah. It was like unbelievable, Like she passed away like in front of my eyes. I was like totally shout, you know, I couldn't see like how it happened. It has been around one and a half year she passed away, and still I still can't sleep, like in a night, even last night, I slept around four him Like this is my normal normal now, Like I can't sleep every time I go
to bed. She just comes like in the eyes and I just the time when she passed away, I think that just comes in front of my eyes, and I just have those those days she was sick, and I think it just comes in my mind and I can't sleep, Like it's so hard, like to.
Sleep because you see her in her last price.
Yeah, I just see her. I just see her at the last moment she looked at to me and she's just gone, like and I can't really just like get out of the out of my mind. It was like seven days, seventeen days. I was with her in the bed she was sick, and I thought, she's totally okay, and the same day she passed away. She was okay, like I had to call the doctor tested. Everything was okay, everything was okay. The doctor said to me, if she's normal, she's okay. And suddenly like she had a brief problem.
So the oxygen level it came from ninety eight to forty eight, and then it came thirty six. And that day she wanting what did all those things which is unhealthy for her? That I want this, I want this. And I was upstairs and I had a call with one of the doctor online call just to tell him like this is her situation at the moment. And my
sister came in. She said she want salt, and salt is not good for her at the moment, and she wanted badly, and can you please come and you tell her, because whatever you tell she said, okay, I said, okay. I came down. I told her, look, salt is not good for you. I'm gonna go and make a fresh juice for you. And have that juice, and she was looking to me like this, and I still remember she said, if you give me poison as when, I will take that, because that much I love you and I'm not taking salt.
I just give me whatever you want to give me. And I just went up and I just grabbed the orange and I made orange juice for her. So that was the last juice he had in and he had the juice, and I went up again for one hour, like I was on coal and things. So suddenly I heard like my sister cry and I just throw the
food and I just came down, like what happened. So doctor was there as well, so I came inside the room and she was like struggling, and I said, everything okay, not is like she's serious now, and I was like, oh, I couldn't really what's happening. And it happened like in four or five minutes, like everything just gone. And Doctor looked to me like he's she's no more, you know. I was like, like I can't believe it. In the last time she looked at me like this, and she
just turned out his head and then old hen. Now that afternoon never goes away from my mind. It's I said, it's like unbelievable. You know, after two days when she passed away, it happened like in real, real, real life with me. After two days. I never shared this. I only shared this with my sisters, like when this accident happened with me. After two days, I was sleeping and I just woke up and I just told my little brother he was there with me as well, that look
after them all. I'm coming. I'm just going to go to the washroom. This is after two days she passed away, and he woke up and he's looking to me like this, that what happened to this guy. I went to the washroom there I realize, why did I told my brother to wake up? And what did I say to him? So I was thinking in the washroom, I was just thinking. I was like, why did I woke him up? I came back to my room and I was like smiling to him and I said, what did I say to you?
He said, you told me look after the moment, and that's what I was telling him when she was sick, when I was taking a bit of break, I was telling him to come. I was just dreaming her to be here, and that's why I told you to look after her and I went there. There I realized what I'm doing. So I think those are the things happening with me, and it's still happening. Whenever I have a bit of sleep. It's so hard, like to go in
that deep sleep and have a long sleep. I don't remember when the last time, like I had that good sleep. But yeah, it's so so hard. It's so hard, you know, to lose your parents. Because what I was missing the most was the video call with my mom. I was having like five hours, six hours, seven hours. The longest I had was eleven hours video called with her eleven hours. That was the longest video call I had with her. We never get bored, like I just keep my phone there,
video call, I'm doing everything, eating everything. Poond is on, she's on the cold, and yeah, I have so many best memories. But it's pretty hard to get that day out of my mind. Do you miss her so much? Yeah, as I said, the video call you're having discussing the things about the games, I think that's something which I missed aumotion and whenever I do perform I come back
to my room, I do miss that call. Like, yeah, she was calling me and telling me, yes, you did that thing right, this thing right, and you have to do that. So yeah, I do miss I do miss those days in those goals.
Yeah, even though it was traumatic for you to say that, are you glad that you were there with her?
Yeah, I'm so glad that I spent the last four or five months with her and I did all the things which everyone wants to do for their parents at the end when she was sick, those days you look after her. I still remember that one night it was four am and I was still in her bed and I was just like messaging her legs and she woke up at that time and opened her eyes. She looked to the watch and she like, it's four am. I said yeah, and she said, like, you haven't slept yet.
I said, no, I will sleep when you get bitter, because I keep looking to the oxygion and everything just to make sure everything is fine. I said, that's why I'm not sleeping. And that day, that night, that moment, the prayers she did for me was unbelievable, and that was something I like, Yes, this is going to take me to the next level, because getting those blessings from your parents at that time from prayers from your parents. I think it's more than anything you want in this world.
What I am at the moment when I have reached it's all about her prayers. I think she prayed for me a lot every day.
Is that what drives you now?
Yeah? It is definitely. That's why I'm more confident on myself. Like, yes, when you have those prayers blessings, I think you just need to have that positive mindset and just keep smiling, keeping enjoy and keep making them proud.
That's exactly what you're doing.
Yeah, I think it's Yeah, it is definitely they're watching me, but I need to make them more and more proud and just to make sure.
Yeah, there couldn't be a more powerful thing to be motivated by her. I can't imagine exactly.
It's it's more than a motivation for me and those times that made me mentally so strong as well.
The legacy that you're leaving not just for your family but for your country. It must be so much weight on someone's shoulders, But how much does it mean to you as well to have that ability to hopefully change, you know, a country.
It's a massive weight on me, all the country, you know, and it's just about for me is to keep it simple for myself. You know, I know my ability. What can I do? And I have to be and those limits. I can just like make a country in one night at the highest level, as long as my process remains the same and my hard work remain the same. I think I will have failures in my life, but that will be something a great motivation for me, and that
will be a best opportunity for me to learn. And I did because I had so much failure in my cricket career and I learned from that and that made me mentally so strong, and that made me that what should be my reaction in future if I get the same day, if I get the same failure, what should be my reaction to that? And I think I never worry about the failure. Now I just worry about and I'm so excited about when I'm going to make my
country more and more proud each in every game. That is something which I always have in my mind.
You started this conversation by saying you want to be known as a good person and not a great cricketer. Before we came into this, I got one of your great mates that you've mentioned through this, Peter Siddle to record a little message for you, so we'll have a listen to that.
Good afternoon, Nez Rash. I hope the interview went well. Rash just firstly want to say thanks for doing this interview with Nez. She was super excited about interviewing you, and her podcasts have been a great success with all the people that she's done it with. I'm lucky enough that five years ago I signed at the Adelaide Strikers and so did Rash. So to be able to then become teammates was exciting for me because I knew what
type of player he was. What I've grown to realize and be able to experience is that it's not about a player or what he does for teams out in the field. It's about him as an individual and how good a person he is, not just two teammates but even opposition, but more importantly, how much he loves and
cherishes and what he does for his family. You know, he comes from a tough background, tough stuff goes on back in his home country, but this love and support that he has for his family and what he's done
throughout his journey is quite special and amazing. So Rash, I just want to compliment you on what you are as a human, a good friend to me, all the Strikers family and teammates, and I think it shows what type of person you are by the love that you get not just here in Adelaide, but all the fans around Australia and I know the world that cherish you for what you do, what you represent, and I think by doing this podcast with narrowly hopefully you know it
is an amazing story and it's that's something that the public deserve to hear and will love you even.
More for hearing.
Thank you very much for doing this, not for yourself and Nirz, but yeah, more like I said, more importantly for the general and wider community that will love hearing about your journey today. But yeah, I just want to thank you for your friendship, your love, and I know that it's going to be a long friendship had long after to the plying days.
Love you Buss so sweet, Thank you so much.
The love is real.
Definitely. As I said, I'm so lucky, you know, to have such people around me. They have given me so much love, so much respect. Seriously, you know, I'm so lucky. You know, I've seen him or playing for Australia Test trick. It saw his hat trick and on his birthday was special and I found one of the best friend. I can count on him anytime and he's someone who is always there to help. And I think I'm so lucky to have the quality of the people and to know
this beautiful family, Striker's family. Yeah, I'm so blessing, so so so lucky to choose that team.
They're lucky to have you. Thank you for being so generous with your time and your memories as well. It is so inspiring what you've done. And I really hope you get that dream one day of walking out in front of your home crowd in your home country.
Yeah, yeah, that's something. It will be more than a dream that you play international cricket in Afghanistan. Yeah, and then all the world will see the real amateur of Afghanistan and the love of the people. I think they love cricket, they love sports, and they have so much passion about the sports and they love every cricket around the world playing cricket. So it will be massive if you get that.
Yeah, I hope that happens for you.
And your family. Hopefully it happened in my career.
Thanks again, Rashet, I really appreciate it all.
Its pleasure.
Thank you.
Thanks for listening to this episode of Ordinarily Speaking. If you enjoyed this chat, you may also like to check out earlier episodes with fellow cricketers Peter Siddle, Glenn Maxwell, Dale Stain, Nathan Lyon, Moses Henriquez, Ashton Ager and Jess Jonathan. They all have incredible stories to tell. Don't forget to get in touch at Ordinarily Underscore Speaking on Insta and at Narrowly Underscore Meadows on Twitter. Thanks for listening.
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