IPL 2019: Rashid Khan credits IPL for his success; calls it a great platform to show skills

Rashid was first added in IPL after which he become a T20 sensation in the world.

Rashid Khan | IANS

Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan is on a rise and has safely placed himself in the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) franchise. It is going to be a long association it seems. The leggie has been the answer to many questions for SRH. Not only with the ball, but he has also shown his potential with the bat as well. 

Rashid in this season has picked up 9 wickets, joint most with Sandeep Sharma. He has become a famous face in T20s in the last couple of years and the cricketer credits IPL for it. A call in IPL had got him a place in Caribbean Premier League and Big Bash League as well. 

“2017 was the start and everything changed from there. IPL is a format where if you perform, you will be renowned throughout the world. There are only top quality players and teams here and doing well here gives a lot of confidence,” Rashid told CricketNext.

“The team (Sunrisers) supported me a lot, gave me a lot of belief from the day I first arrived for the IPL. That was what I needed at that time. I wanted to show off my skills and they helped increase my self-belief. That’s where everything started, by performing in every match."

Rashid doesn't go for different deliveries, he sticks to conventional leg-spin with vary in pace. “In last couple years, I have learned to bowl leg-spin with a different pace. Sometimes the wicket helps and other times it doesn’t, so the speed on the delivery needs to be different according to the conditions. In nets, I try to bowl leg spin with two or three different grips and it helps during the different match situations. When my stock delivery doesn’t work on a pitch, I try to bowl it with a different action. I always try to mix things up,” Rashid said.

The Afghanistan spin sensation revealed he was a batsman first. “Batting came naturally to me. I was a batsman first and then a leg-spinner, so that aspect always fascinated me. Cricket is my life, so the amount of time I devote to my bowling, I try to give to batting as well.

“We don’t have any other job. So I try to balance both. I am trying to improve my batting as much possible. The teams (SRH and Afghanistan) needs me as a finisher now and hopefully, I can fulfill that role. Batting is very important for me,” he said.

Rashid is in the World Cup squad of Afghanistan. He said the aim is to play good quality for cricket. They were impressive in the Asia Cup 2018.

“We’ll try to play good cricket in the World Cup — the kind of cricket we played in the Asia Cup. We want to replicate that, we pushed all the top teams in Asia Cup and we want to do the same. We’ll try to play good and positive cricket. We have to give our 100 percent and try to perform under pressure. If we can do these two things, we’ll be very happy,” he said.

“I don’t feel intimidated by any batsman. If I bowl well, no one can go after me but if I bowl badly I’ll get hit. My effort is to always stick to my plans and perform to the best of my ability,” a confident Rashid said.

Talking about his favorite moment in IPL, he said, “I have a couple of best moments — my first IPL wicket (RCB’s Mandeep Singh in very first over in 2017) was really special. Then last year against KKR, where my all-around performance helped my team win the Eliminator and reach the IPL final.”

(With Cricket Next Inputs)

 
 

By Sihyeu Singh - 23 Apr, 2019

    Share Via