HARARE, Oct. 30 — Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan rewrote the cricket record books on Friday, becoming the first bowler in the history of international Twenty20 cricket across men’s and women’s formats to reach the landmark of 200 wickets.
The 28-year-old maestro achieved the milestone during the second Twenty20 International of the three-match bilateral series against Zimbabwe. Delivering a disciplined four-over spell, Rashid claimed one wicket for 29 runs—a breakthrough that sealed his position at the pinnacle of the shortest format.
Playing in his 120th T20 International appearance, Rashid reached the double-century mark with extraordinary career numbers: a bowling average of 13.96 and an economy rate of 6.13, underscoring unmatched consistency in modern white-ball cricket.
The leg-spinner had previously become the format’s leading international wicket-taker in September 2025, when he surpassed New Zealand pace veteran Tim Southee. Earlier this year, Rashid cemented his global dominance across both domestic franchise leagues and internationals by scaling past 700 aggregate T20 wickets, making him the most prolific wicket-taker in Twenty20 history.
The feat carried poetic symmetry for the Afghan talisman. Rashid made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in October 2015, beginning a journey that revolutionized leg-spin bowling in the 20-over game before coming full circle against the same opposition eleven years later to complete the double century.