'Not much of a wicket-taker' - SRH batting coach Brian Lara on Rashid Khan

Arguably the finest T20 bowler going around, Rashid Khan has been nothing but a nemesis for batters in this format of the game. The Afghanistan leg-spinner can restrict the scoring rate at any juncture of the game and his ability to take regular wickets makes him even more lethal. On Saturday, the Gujarat Titans star became the joint-third-fastest player to complete 100 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL), achieving the feat in 83 games.

He now shares the record with Amit Mishra and Ashish Nehra. With Rashid being such a formidable weapon in T20 cricket, many were shocked when Sunrisers Hyderabad didn’t retain him ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. The leg-spinner served the franchise between 2017 and 2021 and was instrumental in SRH’s success during this period.

Rashid Khan was Someone Who Opposition Teams Decided to Defend: Brian Lara

Subsequently, Rashid was picked by Gujarat Titans in the draft for a whooping sum of INR 15 crore. Meanwhile, SRH’s current batting coach Brian Lara reckons his team is still doing pretty well without the leg-spinner as Rashid wasn’t ‘much of a wicket-taker.’ He also feels players like Washington Sundar and Jagadeesha Suchith are filling his boots really well.

“I have a great respect for Rashid Khan but I believe we have the right combination. Rashid Khan was someone who opposition teams decided to defend against, he was not much of a wicket-taker,” Lara said Star Sports after SRH’s win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday.

“Yes (economy of) 5.5-6 runs per over is great but I think when you have a guy like Washington Sundar spinning the ball into the left-handers in the first six overs, He is an asset. Suchith has come in as his replacement due to injury and he is an asset as well,” he added.

Meanwhile, SRH have been brilliant this season, winning five of their first seven games and are looking all set to qualify for the playoffs. They have fielded a pace-heavy bowling attack so far but Lara reckons leg-spinner Shreyas Gopal can come into the picture at the fag end of the competition. He also admitted SRH might have won all their seven games so far had Rashid been in the side.

” We have Shreyas Gopal, though he hasn’t had a game so far. He is also someone who has a hat-trick in the IPL. I still think we have a lot in the reserves to show the IPL and I am not too worried. All respect to Rashid Khan, if he was a member of this team, I think we might have been 7 out of 7, I don’t know,” Lara added.

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