Rashid and the fourth seamer still a concern, but GT ‘not far off’ heading into playoffs

Rashid was only included in the attack in the 12th over on Thursday, when Mitchell Marsh was nearing his century, possibly as a recognition of his lacklustre performances this season. By then, Sai Kishore had bowled two overs. The two had a collective return of 5-0-70-1 at the conclusion. Aiden Markram’s wicket wasn’t against Rashid’s name.

The Gujarat Titans (GT) have already dropped four IPL 2025 games. They have failed to meet enormous goals in two of those instances: Punjab Kings (PBKS) scored 243 for 5 early in the game, and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) scored 235 for 2 on Thursday night. In retrospect, their potent batting lineup produced subpar totals the previous two times. According to Varun Aaron, GT’s third (fourth) seamer has been the problem when they have lost, and this “has been camouflaged by their great batting.”

Their key seamers on Thursday were Prasidh Krishna, Kagiso Rabada, and Mohammed Siraj. The fourth, Arshad Khan, scored 36 runs in his three overs. The only one more costly was Rashid Khan. While Arshad (eight games, ER 9.21), Ishant Sharma (seven games, ER 11.18), and Kulwant Khejroliya (one game, ER 9.66) have stepped in sporadically, Prasidh and Siraj, along with Rashid and R Sai Kishore, have played all 13 of their games this season.

On ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out show, Aaron stated, “I believe the biggest issue GT has had throughout the entire season and that’s been really camouflaged by their great batting is their third [or fourth] seamer.” In and out was Ishant Sharma. He was quite costly. Once more, Arshad Khan entered and exited, but has since returned. Khejroliya engaged in a single game. Teams will therefore likely try to go very hard against the third seamer, in my opinion.

Prasidh Krishna comes [in early] and goes a bit looking for wickets if they collect a lot of runs against the third seamer because he has been the one to get them wickets. The third seamer has been going for runs, which is exactly what happened today and has been a trend throughout the competition.”

Given that Prasidh and Siraj have performed well, Rashid may be GT’s biggest worry. With a price of 9.38 for his eight wickets this season, he has never been more costly. The lowest economy rate Rashid had ever posted in the IPL prior to this season was 8.40 in 2024. He had never had a season with a score higher than 6.73 between 2017 and 2022.

“It was late. Rashid typically appears when you’re in dire need of striking.

However, that may give you some indication of where Rashid Khan’s confidence stands right now, both from his own perspective and that of the captaincy. Aaron’s fellow panellist, Tom Moody, stated, “You know, we’re not going to introduce him too early.” You can’t take too much away from Sai Kishore, though. He was nominated before Rashid. He is still an extremely cunning bowler. However, a tidal surge struck him today.

“Rashid has taken some time to regain his groove. Recovering from major back surgery takes time for any bowler, whether they are pace bowlers or spinners. Along with the mechanical aspect of things, there is also confidence involved.

Aaron seemed to have seen a particular issue with Rashid’s bowling, which could have been brought on by the late 2023 surgery. He is one of those bowlers that uses a lot of lateral flexion in his action, and in order to bowl that quickly and effectively, he must position his arm in the best possible way. His googly used to really scare batsmen by flying off the wicket so quickly, but I don’t think that’s the case today.”

Rabada’s inclusion in the starting lineup ahead of Gerald Coetzee on Thursday was another mystery surrounding GT’s lineup. Rabada, who left after the first two games to serve a doping ban before returning lately, has played four games, whereas Coetzee has only played two. More significantly, Rabada’s economy rate is 11.57, while Coetzee’s is 7.66. More significantly, Rabada will not be present during the IPL playoffs. Coetzee will be.

“I would have thought that was definitely worth exploring,” Moody stated. “Unless there is a disease or injury that we are unaware of. It would be reasonable for you to gaze at him.

Although second-place Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), who have a game in hand, are only one point behind GT, who remain at the top of the standings, Moody wasn’t overly concerned about them.

“They’re not really off, in my opinion. We are aware that Rashid Khan has taken some time to recover from his surgery and is still not at his peak. “I wouldn’t be reading too much into this game if I were GT,” Moody remarked. “They obviously need to improve in a few areas, but it’s one of those times when you’ve been playing excellent cricket and you risk getting a little lost in a bad mood if you focus too much on a loss at this point in the season.

We are at the pointy end of the business, and the last thing you want to be doing is overanalysing specific difficulties, so I believe they would be better off simply trying to focus on the positives going forward. And while I’m sure players like Rashid Khan are making every effort to regain the consistency we’ve seen in the past, there’s no denying that he has struggled to be effective, especially when facing right-handers, who are often his strongest opponent.