Zadran, 24, had previously served as vice-captain and had already led Afghanistan in 11 T20Is between 2023 and 2025 in a stand-in capacity, winning five and losing five, before his permanent appointment.
Rashid strongly believes that the opener is the right long-term choice to lead a young Afghanistan side.
“One thing I like about him is the hard work he puts in, and he is someone who always wants to lead from the front. You need someone like that who is very consistent and who is very straightforward,” he added.
“I think he is the kind of person who is always trying his best to set an example for the youngsters and show them this is the way to go. I think he is a very honest guy, a hard-working guy, and someone who has the ability to lead the team and to help the guys grow with him.”
Afghanistan’s growth into a side capable of troubling the traditional powerhouses has been years in the making, built on a string of results against higher-ranked opposition.
“We have hardly beaten big teams, but when we started, we started here (in India) in the 2023 World Cup, where we beat England; before that, we beat Pakistan in the bilateral T20 series, so I think all of it started from there, and then beating Sri Lanka, beating Pakistan in the World Cup,” Rashid recalled.
“We did well at the T20 World Cup (2024), got into the semi-finals, so that belief started that we are in that category where we can beat big teams, so it all started from there. But it’s about us now, how we are going to manage and how we keep this continuing.”