Internet Desk: From playing tennis ball cricket in the streets of Nangrahar province in war-torn Afghanistan to bagging a lucrative Indian Premier League deal, the journey has not been short of a fairytale for Rashid Khan. Many eye-brows were raised when Sunrisers bought him for a whopping Rs 4 crore. The witty leg spinner, who has his bowling action modeled like Shahid Afridi has not let down his franchise so far. In three matches so far, Rashid has taken six wickets, conceding just 74 runs in 12 overs at an economy of 6.16. His best though came against Gujarat Lions (3/19).
Rashid’s strength is his subtle googly which can get the best of batsmen flummoxed. Adding to it is his speed at which he bowls. Eighteen year old Rashid’s action is very unlike an orthodox leg spinner with the arm coming slightly wide of the ear, but Rashid bowls very high-arm. He generally disguises the batsmen by bowling with a scrambled seam. This is the reason his googly becomes dangerous as he bowls his leg-spinners from the same angle as the wrong ‘un. Batsmen who pick the delivery from the hand may succeed in playing it but those who try to pick him in flight will be in trouble. The speed and revolutions on the ball make it harder.
But the real test for Rashid will be when the batsmen all over the world will start picking him. In the modern era with the advent of technology, the teams will analyse his bowling minutely. In order to be effective on all types of pitches, he will need to be inventive. In a T20 game, batsmen are in a hurry to score quickly.
But before the opponents start assessing his bowling; let us see the highlights of his rise to stardom:
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