AHMEDABAD: Afghanistan captain Rashid Khan said on Tuesday the familiarity with South African players through his SA20 stint will help him pass useful information about the opposition to his young Afghanistan team-mates for their T20 World Cup match in Ahmedabad.

Rashid has been a constant presence in the SA20 over its four editions, and the premier spinner is coming to the ICC showpiece after spending a month in South Africa with MI Cape Town.

“I think it helps you to share that information with the team. Like, personally I’ve been playing for long, played with each and every one [South African players] for a long time,” Rashid said ahead of Wednesday’s match against South Africa.

“I think it does help the youngsters who haven’t played and give them the kind of idea of what’s going to happen, what their mindset is, and I think it really helps.

“Spent one month there and I think that information you bring to the national team, it really helped the youngsters,” he added.

Rashid also opined that both Afghan and South African players have equal advantage in the match because of their familiarity with Indian conditions through the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“It definitely helps, but even if you have a good idea, still you don’t know how the wicket will behave. If you play in the IPL, it’s different, but when you play in the ICC event, it’s different,” he said.

“There is a pressure when you play for your country. So, it’s a different feeling. But to be honest, no one around the world will tell you how the wicket will behave before the game. I think they know the condition here as well. So, it’s not just like me playing a lot and it’s going to be favouring us, no, I think it’s equal for everyone.”

The 27-year-old also hoped for his pace bowlers to come up with a better effort against South Africa, after they failed to sustain the pressure created by spinner Mujeeb Rahman in the match against New Zealand at Chennai. The Kiwis had won that match by five wickets.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2026