Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan is no more the mystery spinner he used to be earlier, former India player Sanjay Bangar said while speaking on JioHotstar’s ‘Game Plan – Know Your Team’.
He explained that Rashid’s exposure to franchise cricket around the world had given the batters a “broad familiarity” of his variations. Despite the concerns, Bangar feels Rashid will be a key bowler for Gujarat Titans in IPL 2026.
“Rashid Khan’s mystery factor fading away can be a combination of multiple factors. There is now broad familiarity among batters on how to play him. Batsmen have had enough look-ins because Rashid plays in all major franchise T20 leagues. He is a franchise king. Players all around the world get opportunities to play against him. The more you face a bowler, the more your mind starts finding methods to deal with him. The pitch at Narendra Modi Stadium is not on the slower side. A major part of his game was to hit the pads or get bowled dismissals by keeping the stumps in play. That goes away a little bit.
“The injury he had, he has come back from it. It may be taking a toll in terms of the pace at which he is bowling. These are factors that may have diminished his returns a little. But he is still a bowler who picks up two or three wickets and bowls with an economy rate of under eight an over,” Bangar said.
GT’s headache would be to pick up their best playing combination as the new season of IPL kicks off on March 28. Bangar said that they have to find a way to make best use of Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia, who can chip in with quick runs in the death overs.
“One thing GT have done is persist with the players they selected in the first place. They have stuck with Shahrukh Khan and Rahul Tewatia. Washington Sundar has been given a role in T20 cricket for them. Not necessarily with the ball, but he comes in to bat in important positions, maybe at number four. I see a similar role for Washington Sundar, more with the bat. We hope Shahrukh Khan repays the faith shown by the GT management in him. He showed signs of improvement last season, scoring runs at crucial times. If both Tewatia and Shahrukh play, one could be used as an impact player. If they contribute lower down the order, that will help GT a lot because most runs came from the top order last time,” said Bangar, who was previously the coach of Punjab Kings.
