IPL 2022 Auction: 3 spinners who will complement Rashid Khan
Afghanistan's star leg-spinner Rashid Khan was one of the draft picks ahead of the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. He was picked up by the new franchise based out of Ahmedabad ahead of the IPL 2022 Mega Auction.
Apart from Rashid, Ahmedabad, owned by the CVC Capital group, picked all-rounder Hardik Pandya as captain and Shubman Gill.
A look at Team Ahmedabad's Player Picks.
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Since being bought by SunRisers Hyderabad in 2017, Rashid Khan has become one of the most coveted players in the IPL. The wily spinner is one of the most difficult to hit in the league and delivers key breakthroughs at regular intervals.
He has an economy rate of 6.33 in the IPL and averages 20.55 with the ball. His bowling strike rate in the league is 19.48. Overall, in 76 matches for SRH, he has picked 93 scalps.
The IPL 2020 was his most successful season, taking 20 wickets in 16 matches with an economy rate of 5.37.
He is handy with the bat as well and has the ability to hit big down the order and his strike rate of 137.03 speaks to it.
It was a no-brainer for one of the two new franchises to snap him up with one of their three draft picks. What will now be key for the Ahmedabad franchise will be to build a potent bowling attack around him to complement the star spinner.
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Finding a quality spinner to partner him in the attack will be a major step in that direction.
Here are three spinners Ahmedabad should target to partner Rashid Khan:
#1 Ravichandran Ashwin
The experienced spinner may be the perfect partner for Rashid Khan in the new Ahmedabad franchise.
While he is known for his variety and constant improvisation, Ravichandran Ashwin is predominantly an off-spinner and will complement the leggie beautifully. The two together would be perfect to target teams even if they have a good amount of right hand-left hand combinations.
Ashwin, like Rashid, is a shrewd operator with the ball and does not give away many runs. He has an economy rate of 6.91 in the IPL.
His recent recall to India's white-ball setup also shows that his stock is on the rise in the shortest format.
#2 Kuldeep Yadav
Left-arm wrist-spinners are a rare commodity and Kuldeep Yadav was one of the most devastating exponents of that skill until a few years back. However, since then, his form has been on a downhill spiral.
However, partnering up with Rashid Khan may be just what he needs to get back to his best.
Having two wrist-spinners working in tandem would make it a brilliant bowling attack. Batters look to play Rashid out, but targeting Kuldeep Yadav will be difficult as well if he is bowling at his best. Moreover, Kuldeep is even more lethal when the batters are looking to go after him.
The pressure that the Afghan creates will also help take some of that off Kuldeep.
The 27-year-old missed last season due to an injury and starting off at a new franchise may well be what he needs to rejuvenate himself. He may well end up as a very dangerous partner for Rashid.
#3 Yuzvendra Chahal
Having two leg-spinners in a T20 team may be too unidimensional. But Yuzvendra Chahal and Rashid Khan are two of the premier spinners in the tournament and they can team up to form a very deadly duo.
With 139 wickets in 113 matches, Chahal is a prolific wicket-taker. The two together can slow down opposition teams in the middle-order while also taking wickets.
Chahal formed a good partnership with Shahbaz Ahmed last season with Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). Both spinners were taking it away from the right-hander, so it shows that he can be part of a setup with two similar spinners.
Chahal was surprisingly released by RCB and Ahmedabad would do well to target him in the IPL 2022 auction.