Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan revealed in his book, Rashid Khan: From Streets to Stardom,that he rejected citizenship offers from both India and Australia. During the 2023 IPL, a high-ranking Indian board official urged him to stay in India due to poor conditions in Afghanistan, but Rashid maintained loyalty to his home country.
- The Offer: The offer included Indian documents and the chance to live and play cricket in India.
- The Response: Rashid stated: “If I don’t play for my country, I won’t play for any other country either”.
- Context: The incident, occurring in 2023, was not the first time his future was discussed; a similar, older campaign occurred in 2018 where fans urged Indian citizenship, to which he remained firm on representing Afghanistan
