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Afghanistan and Gujarat Titans (GT) ace spinner Rashid Khan on Wednesday said that as batters continue to raise the level of attack in T20 cricket, bowlers must think about their skill set rather than thinking about the pitch and boundary size.
He also hailed Indian pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, saying that it is hard for batters to hit him as he has control over his skills. Rashid is representing Gujarat Titans (GT) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, where he has taken eight wickets and scored 102 runs for his side at an average of 20.40 so far. Speaking to ESPNCricinfo's The Cricket Monthly, Rashid said that bowlers would not go anywhere if they keep thinking about pitch and boundary sizes while being hit for runs, rather than focusing and questioning themselves on their skill set and executing it. "As a bowler, if you keep thinking about the pitch more and the boundary [size] more, that is when you will concede runs. Because you, the bowler, have already accepted that you are nothing. If I am bowling a good yorker, no one is going to hit it. But if I am bowling a bad ball and I do not have enough practice at bowling good balls again and again, that is where I am going to get hit," said Rashid. "I feel all of us bowlers should ask ourselves: are we skilful enough to bowl three back-to-back yorkers? Are we skilful enough to bowl a bouncer, a proper bouncer? Are we skilful enough to bowl a wide slower one or a wide yorker? How many times can we repeat that? That's the thing we should think about more rather than the wicket and the boundary size." "We say, oh, flat wicket, small grounds, this, that. But you need to see: where did you bowl? If the wicket is flat, it is not swinging, not reversing, what is my third option? If I am still bowling a good length and he is hitting it for six, that is my problem," he concluded. That is why Rashid praises Bumrah, saying that the pacer knows what he is doing and has control over his skill and can bowl great yorkers anywhere. "The best example is Jasprit Bumrah. He knows what he is doing. That's why it is hard to hit him, because he has control over his skills. And what are his skills? His skills are bowling good yorkers. He can bowl it on any wicket, any situation, whenever he wants. He will bowl the wide slower one similarly. Once you have those skills of bowling good yorkers, a good bumper, your other deliveries become more effective," said Rashid. In 12 matches at the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) for the Mumbai Indians (MI), Bumrah has taken 18 wickets at an average of 16.50, with the best figures of 5/21. He is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament so far. Rashid's team GT is at the bottom of the points table, with four wins, seven losses and a total eight points. GT will be locking horns with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Ahmedabad on May 10. (ANI)
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