Rashid Khan said that it was difficult to see what the playing eleven would be. It was a difficult decision to keep Mujeeb out. Sometimes you are looking for combinations. The good thing is that I have options and this makes the job easier for me.

The Afghanistan cricket team led by Rashid Khan started the Asia Cup 2025 with a bang. In the first match against Hong Kong, the team registered a big win by 94 runs. This is Afghanistan's biggest win in the Asia Cup and the third biggest win in terms of runs in the tournament. Batting first, Afghanistan put 188 runs on the board in the stipulated 20 overs on the basis of Azamtullah Umarzai's stormy half-century, in response to which the Hong Kong team could score only 94 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Rashid Khan gave the credit of the victory to Umzai and after the match explained why he kept a bowler like Mujeeb ur Rahman out of the playing XI.

Rashid Khan said after the match, "It was a great game. It was good to put the score on the board. Taking wickets in the beginning was important for us. This was the problem in the last series as well. This is one area we have to improve.

The batting in the death overs was excellent. Especially Umarzai. We have good spinners. This puts pressure on the opposition team. When you score runs, the batsmen take risks and we have a chance to take wickets. We will try to make a good record even while chasing the target.

It was difficult to see what the playing eleven would be. It was a difficult decision to leave Mujeeb out. You are sometimes looking for combinations. The good thing is that I have options and this makes my job easier."

Afghanistan's net run rate has increased to +4.700 with this win, which will help them reach the next round. Their next match is against Bangladesh on 16 September.