Rashid Khan confirms he will be staying with Adelaide Strikers for the remainder of the Big Bash

Rashid's father died the day before New Year's Eve, but he elected to play in their victories over Sydney Thunder and Melbourne Renegades and will now be staying for the rest of the competition...

Afghanistan bowler Rashid Khan will be staying with the Adelaide Strikers for the rest of the Big Bash, despite the death of his father the day before New Year’s Eve.

Rashid elected to play in the Strikers match against the Sydney Thunder only the day after his father’s death, and took 2-34 as they won by 20 runs.

The Strikers are not set to play any games between January 13 and 21, but Rashid’s family urged him to stay in Australia for the remained of the tournament.

"I decided to play all the games. If I get some free days I will try to manage myself to try to go home," Rashid said.

^{Rashid Khan took 2-34 the day after his father died}

"It was tough. He really supported us, he struggled a lot. He was always watching my games. He didn't understand cricket a lot but he just was asking my family how I had done.

"In this situation, my family has really supported me, my fans all over the world are supporting me.

"Especially my mum, my brothers, my nephews, they were encouraging me a lot from back home. They were calling me again and again.

"They were like, 'you have to be there, you have to play for us, you have to play for your dad. We can see you're sad, you're alone there, you're (a long way) from home.' That's how their motivation helped to stay here and play for the Strikers."