Rashid Khan pledges to give his entire match fees from ICC World Cup 2023 to Afghanistan earthquake victims

Rashid Khan didn't pick any wicket against Bangladesh in Afghanistan's tournament opener.

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has pledged to donate all of his match fees from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 tournament to the victims of the deadly earthquake that rocked the nation.

The hardscrabble village of Kashkak, a collection of mud-brick homes perched on a dusty plateau in western Afghanistan, is now a pile of rubble. The village was flattened by a magnitude of -6.3 earthquake, followed by a series of eight powerful after-shocks that buried many of its inhabitants on Saturday morning.

The government says more than 2400 people have died in the "unprecedented" earthquake, with 1,300 homes toppled across 13 villages in western Herat province. Late Sunday, the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs put fatalities at a little over 1,000 but said "100 percent" of homes in 11 villages were totally destroyed.

“I am donating all of my ICC Cricket World Cup match fees to help the affected people," says Rashid Khan

Meanwhile, Rashid Khan, the star Afghanistan spinner who made his country proud with his achievements in cricket, pledged his entire match fee from the ICC World Cup 2023 to the victims of the deadly earthquake back at home.

“I learned with great sadness about the tragic consequences of the earthquake that struck the western provinces (Herat, Farah, and Badghis) of Afghanistan. I am donating all of my #CWC23 match fees to help the affected people. Soon, we will be launching a fundraising campaign to call upon those who can support the people in need," he wrote on X.

At the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Saturday, Afghanistan's World Cup campaign in India got off to a bad start as they were defeated by Bangladesh. After choosing to bowl first after winning the toss, Bengal Tigers reduced Afghanistan to just 156 runs in 37.2 overs, with Mehidy Hasan and Shakib Al Hasan both taking three wickets.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz led Afghan team and scored 47 runs off 62 deliveries, and Azmathullah Omarzai added 22 runs to the total. With 59 runs, Najmul Hossain Shanto reached an undefeated half-century, and Mehidy also reached fifty.

On October 10, Bangladesh will face England, and on October 11, Afghanistan will play India in New Delhi.