A fitter Rashid feels back to his best but not very hopeful of red-ball future

New Delhi: Rashid Khan believes he has finally regained the rhythm that eluded him following his back surgery in 2023.

An undisputed great of the shortest format, Rashid went through a horror last season when he took just nine wickets in 15 games for Gujarat Titans. This was after an equally underwhelming 2024 run during which he struggled for rhythm post the surgery.

He had to fight demons in his mind too. The constant thought being what if he pushes it too hard and ends up hurting his back again?

With a standout performance on Wednesday night against Delhi Capitals, Rashid made a loud statement. He challenged edges on both sides and took three timely wickets of Nitish Rana, Sameer Rizvi and opposition skipper Axar Patel to bring his team back into the contest that it eventually won by a solitary run.

The googly to DC’s in-form batter Rizvi gave most satisfaction to Rashid, who ended with envious figures of three for 17 in four overs in a game in which both teams crossed the 200-run mark.

In a media interaction post the one run win over Delhi Captials, Rashid was expectedly asked about the dismal last season and the work he put in to get back to his best.

“Yaad mat dilao yaar, bohot bura season tha (2025) (Please don’t remind of it, it was a very bad season). But if you have a bad season, it doesn’t mean you are gone...It’s just about your line and length,” Rashid said after his team’s one-run win here. “I feel like that’s something which I missed it last year. And this year I was just focusing on not to think a lot,” he admitted.

“...it’s a fresh year and I gave myself a couple of months after the last IPL, focused on my fitness. I felt like I was struggling a little bit with my back after surgery. And I think when I had three good months, I had a good The Hundred in UK.

“But more importantly, I try my best to just work on my fitness and work on my core. That does allow my body to bowl with the full rhythm,” added Rashid.