'We couldn't afford him' - Muttiah Muralitharan opens up on why SRH didn't retain Rashid Khan for IPL 2022

It came as a shock for many when Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) let go of Rashid Khan – one of the finest spinners of the IPL. Ahead of the IPL mega auction, the spin wizard was signed by Gujarat Titans (GT), the new entrants in the league, and was named skipper Hardik Pandya’s deputy thereon.

Recently, in the 21^st match of the tournament, SRH and GT locked horns with each other and Rashid was seen indulging in fun sessions with his old team members and staff. SRH’s spin-bowling coach Muttiah Muralitharan, during the game, opened up about the reason behind not retaining the marquee leg-spinner.

While speaking during the match on Monday, at the DY Patil Stadium, he said: “We didn’t want to get rid of Rashid Khan. We couldn’t afford him.” GT signed Rashid for an astounding fee of INR 15 crore, which was the same price as Hardik Pandya, in IPL 2022.

Rashid was the second-highest wicket-taker for SRH before he parted ways. During his tenure with SRH, he played 76 games and claimed 93 wickets. He is in fine form with the ball and has picked up six wickets in four matches for the new entrants so far this season.

SRH handed GT their first defeat of the season

In the match, SRH defeated GT by eight wickets as they chased the target down with five balls to spare. SRH’s start to the season was not great as they lost the first two games of the season. But they managed to come back by defeating CSK and GT to claim back-to-back wins and rise up in the points table.

In their recent encounter, SRH’s top-order players Kane Williamson, Abhishek Sharma and Nicholas Pooran put up a great show against GT. Sharma fell short of just eight runs to bring up his half-century and was dismissed by Rashid who gave his team the first breakthrough. Skipper Williamson’s good form and composed knock of 57(46), followed by a structured innings by Pooran, led the team towards a victory. SRH will face off against the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday, April 15.