Rashid Khan has been with Sunrisers Hyderabad for two seasons now. (BCCI Photo)
Afghanistan’s teenage spin sensation Rashid Khan revealed that he is practicing five different varieties of his leg-spinners ahead of his country’s Test debut against India in June. Spin will be one of the key weapons for Afghanistan when they take on India and the responsibility to lead the attack will rest on the shoulders of Rashid Khan. Hence, the leggie is including the variations to his stock delivery to spring a surprise on the Indian batsmen, who are traditionally good players of spin.
Speaking to the first post, Khan said,”I’m practising five different types of deliveries in the nets. I’m yet to use them. I will mix them with the other deliveries in the Test.”
Giving insights into his bowling, Khan said,”I bowl different types of googlies. But the one that is most effective is when I use my fingers, rather than the wrist to make the ball go the other way.”
“The leg spin is from the front of my fingers. But for the special googly, I tweak it hard and the ball goes over the back of the fingers. I adjust the wrist in a manner that it cannot be easily spotted. It is my arm speed and the pace with which I deliver this ball that makes it possible. When I showed this to a couple of IPL leg spinners they were surprised. But when they tried it the ball fell at their feet,” he added.
Reflecting on the strengths of his country, Khan said, “Every country has it strength. India produce good batsmen while England, Australia, and New Zealand have excellent fast bowlers. Afghanistan’s speciality is spinners. In fact even our fast bowlers want to bowl spin,” he added.
“We have 40 to 50 of our best cricketers practising in Noida for the Test. There are many good young spinners among them. The world will see their brilliance at the inaugural Afghan Premier League in Dubai in October this year. That event will showcase Afghanistan’s talent and make everybody sit up and take notice. Actually, with polishing, motivation and encouragement some of the Afghan players could become international stars,” he signed off by saying.