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Gujarat Titans assistant coach Parthiv Patel exuded confidence in "proven" spinner Rashid Khan's ability after his lumbering start in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. The 40-year-old outlined the plan behind the acquisition of the in-form Jos Buttler, which was always about playing him at the number three spot.
Gujarat had plenty of positives to take away from their emphatic 58-run victory against the Royals. Rashid, who has been Gujarat's prime weapon for the past couple of seasons, returned in the wicket-taking column. In the ongoing edition, the Afghanistan spin maestro strived hard to scythe scalps but often returned empty-handed with expensive spells. His efforts finally paid off against Rajasthan as he pegged Dhruv Jurel and Shubham Dubey's wickets and conceded 37 runs after bowling his quota of four overs. With Rashid showcasing glimpses of returning to his prolific ways, Parthiv stepped up and advocated for Rashid by expressing the franchise's confidence in the ball-tweaker's ability despite having just three wickets from five matches. "He is a proven cricketer. He has done so well for so many years. It just takes one game. He bowled at his desired speed. We are confident about Rashid's ability," Parthiv told reporters in the post-match press conference. Apart from Rashid's recent rise to the limelight, former England skipper Buttler has grabbed the headlines with his rich vein of form. Despite deviating from his usual opening slot, Buttler has been impressive with his scorching displays at number three. Even against Rajasthan, when tearaway Jofra Archer cleaned up skipper Shubman Gill, Buttler arrived at the crease and ensured GT remained unscathed in the powerplay. With his composed 36, he raised an 80-run partnership to put GT in a comfortable spot. Overall, he boasts 202 runs from five matches and occupies the fourth spot in the race to Orange Cap. "When we acquired him in the auction, that was the plan: he would bat at number three. He is someone who is senior on the ground, and he was supposed to keep wickets, but he wasn't keeping wickets for England. He was going to do it for us. When you have someone like Buttler, who is arguably the best player of white-ball cricket in recent years, it is good to see he is enjoying, scoring runs and delivering for us," Parthiv added. (ANI)
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