Rashid Khan, a leg-spinner for the Gujarat Titans (GT), revealed that he frequently jokes with fellow Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad during games in the current Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 to put the young player at ease.
Ahmad, who is 18 years old and spins the ball with his left hand, made his IPL debut in 2023 for GT. He had an early impact, collecting 13 wickets in 10 games with an average of 22.15 and an economy rate of 7.96.
The young player defeated Faf du Plessis (28) and Mahipal Lomror (1) to finish with a score of 2/39. GT defeated Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) by six wickets in the final league game of the IPL 2023 on Sunday, May 21, 2023.
Rashid discussed his conversations with Ahmad at a press conference following the game. He stated:
“Not much; we mostly joke around during overs.” To be honest, all I’m trying to do is keep him as calm as possible while not putting too much pressure on him. I’m simply attempting to make things easier for him. He is still relatively young in the IPL, and his career is only getting started. I try to keep things as amusing as possible when I talk to him during the overs.
“We talk about the game even when we’re not on the field, but we try to get the basics right.” “Most of the time, we just have fun,” Rashid remarked. We attempt to converse to him in Pashto, his native language, to make sure he’s happy and calm.”
Rashid had a fantastic IPL 2023 season. In 14 games, he has 24 wickets at an average of 18.25 and an economy rate of 7.82.
Rashid Khan says, “In T20, I feel like every dot ball is a wicket.”
The “Impact Player” rule in IPL 2023 has made it more difficult for spinners because most teams employ it to lengthen their innings.
Rashid agreed that it was a difficult task and stated that, due to changes in the game, a dot ball was now as valuable as a wicket in T20s.
“Bowling in the middle overs of T20 games is difficult these days, especially in this IPL with the Impact Player rule,” the spin guru remarked. My strategy is to continue throwing strikes and my best balls. In T20, every dot ball appears to be a wicket.”
The 24-year-old also lauded his teammate Shubman Gill and RCB batter Virat Kohli for their hundreds in the encounter on Sunday.
Rashid stated:
“I am so fortunate to have seen two beautiful hundreds today [Sunday].” Both Virat Bhai and Shubman played brilliantly. It was entertaining to see Shubman’s hundred. He’s been working extremely hard.
“He believes he can turn his 50s and 60s into 100s, so he has been a very consistent player for us since last year.” It was a fantastic game, and I’m thrilled for him.”
Gill’s century was higher than Kohli’s, and GT achieved their target of 198 in 19.1 overs.
