SRH Performance Analyst reveals why they decided to pick Rashid Khan over Imran Tahir 2017 IPL Auction

Afghanistan star Rashid Khan was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the 2017 IPL auction for a sum of INR 4 crores. The leg-spinner ultimately paved his way to becoming one of the best bowlers, especially in the shortest format. Rashid finished that debut season in the IPL as the sixth-highest wicket-taker with 17 scalps in 14 matches and since then, he has been an integral part of the Hyderabad franchise.

Another Afghanistan star– Mohammad Nabir was also snapped up by SRH in the 2017 IPL auction. All-rounder Nabi was sold to Sunrisers Hyderabad for a base price of INR 30 lakh, becoming the first Afghan player to be bought by an IPL franchise.

Shrinivas Chandrashekaran, the Performance Analyst of IPL side Sunrisers Hyderabad, revealed how the franchise tracked the Afghanistan duo to buy them in the auction. SRH had begun the process of scouting Rashid as far back as the 2016 World T20. Nabi, on the other hand, caught the eye during the Bangladesh Premier League.

It was during the World T20 in 2016 that we first watched Rashid: Shrinivas Chandrashekaran

“It was during the World T20 in 2016 that we first watched Rashid Khan closely. You could see that there was something different about him. He had a good game against England in Delhi. There were [good] performances during that World T20 and we kept following him,” Chandrashekaran said during the chat show Homerun with AV with sports commentator Arun Venugopal on his YouTube channel Gethist Creative.

Chandrashekaran pointed out Rashid’s blistering pace with which he emerged as a ‘different’ leg-spinner. The SRH Performance Analyst also heaped praise on Rashid’s fielding skills and ability to finish the games.

“Whatever games he was playing, he would run through oppositions. So the curiosity about him increased. The pace at which he bowled was a lot different to what a normal leggie would bowl, and the way he could finish games and his fielding was top class,” he added.

Chandrashekaran worked with Nabi during the BPL as they were both part of the Chittagong Vikings while Rashid was a part of Cumilla Warriors. It was Chandrashekaran who suggested Rashid’s name to Warriors’ coach after they lost all the seven games.

“Rashid was part of the Bangladesh Premier League as well. Mohammad Nabi was part of Chittagong Vikings like I was and Rashid was playing for Comilla, which was led by Mashrafe Mortaza. Rashid didn’t play the first seven games as they went with Imad Wasim.

However, they had lost all the seven games. Once their seventh game was over, I had a discussion with their coach. That’s when I suggested that they could play Rashid and see if he could make a difference,” revealed Chandrashekaran.

He further said that Sunrisers were confused between Imran Tahir and Rashid as both the players were poles apart in terms of experience. Citing Mustafizur Rahman’s example, Chandrashekaran explained why the Hyderabad franchise decided to try Rashid.

“Experience vs a young rookie – that was a call we had to take. But then we thought that in 2016 we had picked up Mustafizur Rahman and he turned out to be a sensation, so it kind of allowed us to give it a go with someone like Rashid, who is different,” he said.

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