Rashid Khan's mystery spin and his ability to mesmerize batsmen at will make him the most valuable T20 player in the world. Rest assured, his name will also dominate Indian strategy discussions as Afghanistan gear up to make their Test debut this Thursday in Bangalore.

The 19-year-old leg-spinner was in sensational form for 2018 IPL runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad. He then spun a web around Bangladesh as they succumbed to a 3-0 whitewash against Afghanistan in the T20I series.

Rashid, today, is a force to be reckoned with.

But it was very different, only two years back when the Afghan wizard was nowhere in the spotlight.

Even in 2016, he was a thorn in the flesh of opponents. But that was at Associate level and no one had the guts to punt on his googlies to do the trick in the big league.

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Former Afghanistan coach and former India player Lalchand Rajput recalls this true story which now sounds so improbable.

"When I began coaching the Afghanistan team, I was introduced to this impressive under-19 spinner Rashid Khan. He was naturally talented. His arm speed was very fast and his bowling style was different.

"After six to seven months, when I thought he was good enough to play the IPL, I called up a few people. I called up Virender Sehwag and told him there was a talented leg-spinner and since Kings XI Punjab did not have too many spin options, Rashid could be a good choice for them. Sehwag said KXIP had have Axar Patel.. 'We don't need spinners, we need all rounders'."

"I also called up Gautam Gambhir (then captain of Kolkata Knight Riders). I knew they had issues with Sunil Narine at the time with uncertainty around his action. He refused and said 'We have Narine and Kuldeep Yadav'," Rajput told India Today.

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Rajput persevered and his next call was to Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman. "I told him if he did not want to pick him straightaway, he should at least just keep a watch on Rashid. I told him that I had seen him bowl. My argument was he was quickish and could be a force (to reckon with) in India in April and May.

"Laxman kept following him in our I Cup and other T20 matches and ultimately picked him. He took a chance and the rest is history. Today we regard Rashid as the best spinner in the T20 format," he said.

Recalling one of his initial conversations with Rashid, Rajput comes up with another gem of a story. "He told me he had so many brothers and in their backyard games, they used to play with a tennis ball with each other. He told me his brother would hit him when he bowled slow, so he started bowling quick. And he could always bat well."

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In Rajput's opinion, those who fail to read him, miss the fact that he spins from his hands and not wrists and that he bowls a lot of googlies and straight-ones while leg spin was actually his variation.

The former coach is excited about Afghanistan's Test debut but refuses to get swayed with their T20 success.

"Rashid is fearless. But Test cricket and T20 are different. There is no strike rate pressure in Test cricket and India have quality players against spin. But you never know. These spinners are coming in with confidence so one can't take them lightly.

"But remember people couldn't read Ajanta Mendis, before he was ultimately found out. In Test cricket, over a period of time, batsmen will start reading him. So that will be a challenge for him as well," he said.

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