IPL 2025: Gujarat Titans’ Rashid Khan problem

Gujarat Titans entered IPL 2025 with one of the best bowling line-ups. They had Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Ishant Sharma among fast bowlers. And Rashid Khan, Sai Kishore and Washington Sundar leading the spinners. But while you would have expected Rabada and Rashid to be the main stars, reality has been different. Rabada has withdrawn from the IPL for personal reasons, while Rashid endured the worst-ever phase of bowling he’s had in any IPL, and he has been playing in the tournament since 2017. In the Titans comprehensive 58-run win against Rajasthan Royals, Rashid’s figures of 4-0-37-2 actually marked a vast improvement over his IPL 2025 form so far.

Before the match against the Royals, Rashid had taken just one wicket in four games, was averaging 143, and had gone at a whopping 10.21 per over. Today’s figures brought down his average to 60, and economy to 10 – and merely thinking that an economy of 10 would be an improvement for Rashid would have been unthinkable earlier. Rashid had never gone at more than 8.40 over an entire IPL season. Till IPL 2022, Rashid had never even gone at more than 7 per over.

Rashid in the IPL over the years

From his first year in 2017, Rashid was a phenomenon. He was extremely difficult to score off, and despite opponents playing him defensively and trying to just get through his overs without damage, he was picking up regular wickets too.

Rashid Khan: from 2017 debut till April 9, 2025 – the Titans’ fifth game in IPL 2025

There is a clear contrast between the 2025 numbers and those of previous years. IPL 2024 was the first time Rashid was a bit below average, although in the most batting-dominated season of all time, his numbers were still quite okay. But in 2025 that decline was steeper.

What has gone wrong with Rashid?

In a word: control. The Rashid of 2017 to 2023 was a master at landing the ball where he wanted to. He would find that sweet spot where batters were neither confident coming forward because the ball was not full enough, nor rocking back because it wasn’t short enough. And with Rashid’s speeds, you couldn’t safely just read him off the pitch either.

Moreover, it was extremely difficult to pick his variations. The googly caught many a batter plumb or bowled, because when he delivered it the difference in action was miniscule compared to his leg-break. His changes of pace, sliders and top-spinners were equally subtle. There was a fizz to his bowling.

But of late, that control has been lacking. The master of length has been bowling too short, too full, and straying in line too. What could be the reason?

Rashid had back surgery in late 2023, and that could well be a contributing factor. Since his comeback from that surgery, he has been a diminished version of what he was at his peak. The numbers show that clearly.

Role in Gujarat Titans

Rashid still remains a key part of the Titans. His experience and nous can’t be discounted, and he adds value with his batting too. As he showed against Royals, he can be handy with his bowling still. What has helped Titans is how Kishore has seamlessly stepped up, while Siraj and Prasidh are on track to have their best IPL seasons. That has allowed the team to not be too hindered by Rashid’s drop off. And they expect him to be back to his best soon too.

“He’s a proven cricketer and has done so well for so many years. And it just takes one game,” said assistant coach Parthiv Patel. “I thought he bowled brilliantly today. The ball was dropping nicely and it was going with the speed that he wanted. He’s quite confident, and we are also quite confident of Rashid Khan’s ability.”

Whether this game marks the start of better fortunes for Rashid or not remains to be seen. But it did show that he can’t be discounted yet.