5 reasons why Rashid Khan is the best T20I bowler

His googly is akin to entering into the Bermuda triangle. The batsman facing him has no clue how to deal with this menace, who is going to take him down. The batsman either prods forward, leaving a gap for the ball to knock back into his stumps or takes a step backward that finds him plumb in front of the stumps. The jubilant bowler celebrates the dismissal with his boyish charm. Yes, he is, of course, none other than Rashid Khan.

With the bowling figures of 3 for 13 against Bangladesh in the first of the three T20I matches being played at Dehradun, Rashid completed a set of 50 T20I wickets. While he is the second-fastest bowler to take 50 wickets in terms of T20Is played, he is fastest in terms of time taken to get to 50 wickets (2 years and 226 days, almost one year less than the second-best).

Here are the five reasons why Rashid is the best T20 bowler in the world.

#1 Backed by Data

In recent years, we have seen revolutionary changes in the way cricket is now watched by people. This has led to a huge uplift in the data analytics of the game. So here are a few statistics that prove Rashid’s claim at the top.

Rashid Khan’s bowling average of 13.57 (Runs conceded per wicket) is the best in T20Is for any bowler who has bowled in more than 10 innings. Next best is Ajantha Mendis, who has not played a T20I in the last four years.

Despite being a leg-spinner, Rashid Khan has managed an economy of 6.03, which is virtually equal to the other T20I bowling legend, Sunil Narine whose economy is 6.02. Six runs per over is T20Is is an exemplary performance.

Another major feature of the Afghan’s bowling is the discipline that he maintains. This is evident from his dismissal summary. Of the 52 wickets that he has picked so far, 29 have been either bowled or Leg Before Wicket (LBW). This is significantly better than any other bowler.

We have already seen how Rashid is the fastest to reach 50 T20I wickets. The numbers are clearly behind the teenage leg-spinner.