Follow UsRashid Khan has had yet another good season in the India Premier League (IPL) 2022, having picked up 18 wickets from 15 games at an economy rate of 6.73. Into his fifth season, he is no longer an unknown quantity in the league yet the batters prefer to play him out safely.
In the Qualifier 1 match against Rajasthan Royals (RR), Rashid did not pick up a single wicket, but gave away just 15 runs from his four overs and did not concede a single boundary as well.
"My mindset wasn't any different in playoffs. The energy and the thought process is the same throughout. But teams are playing it safe against me. So, I am trying to keep it tight and that increases the chance of picking up wickets by the bowler at the other end," the Gujarat Titans (GT) spinner said ahead of Sunday's against RR.
He further adds that his objective is to build pressure. "Irrespective of whether it is a league game or knockouts, my mindset is to bowl in a certain area and I don't try anything different. My objective is to build pressure," Rashid said at the pre-final press conference.
Rashid has shown that he is no mug with the bat with nine sixes and a strike-rate of 206 plus in this season. Having developed a second skill obviously boosted his confidence and especially after contributing in finishing a couple of close games this season.
"I batted a bit higher than where I was batting before. The other thing is confidence. It is given by the coaching staff, captain and all the players. They believed I will be able to perform. That is the kind of energy you need as a player and that has been given to me," he said.
He in fact practices a lot at the nets. "There are more batting practice sessions for me, batting more than before and the belief that everyone has on me, that this guy can deliver and score some runs for the team, crucial runs.
"I always had that belief that I can score those 20-25 runs for the team at the end, if the team needs," he added.
Rashid also praised his team-mate, David Miller, stating that he makes the job of the top-order easy.
"Having David, someone who's in form in the middle, making scores, makes the job of top-order easy. Numbers 4, 5 and 6 are important in T20 and once you have them in form, it does help to win games and doesn't matter whatever the target is.
"They have scored without any fear, especially when you look at the game against CSK (Chennai Super Kings), the kind of innings David played, he showed his class," Rashid signed off.
(With inputs from PTI)