IPL 2022 | Teams are playing safer against me, says Rashid Khan

T20 cricket's original maverick, Rashid Khan, continues to have an incredible time in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) with the new franchise Gujarat Titans (GT). Playing his fifth IPL overall, Khan has outfoxed the best of batters this season, claiming 18 wickets in 15 games in his first appearance for the franchise.

The 23-year-old spoke about his bowling approach until now and how that has contributed to his stellar showing ahead of the final on May 29.

According to Cricket.com, Rashid said, "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,”

“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,"

This edition of the IPL saw Rashid exhibit his skills with the bat, where he ended up scoring a match-winning 40 against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in the league stage.

He spoke about his batting at great length and how that has made him a better player.

"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,”

“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," the Afghan leg-spinner elaborated.

Rashid remained wicketless in Qualifier 1 against the Rajasthan Royals (RR), giving away just 15 runs without conceding a four or six.

He will again look to repeat or better his performance on Sunday in the final against the same opposition.