“Ekdum majama” — “absolutely fine.” Rashid Khan broke into a grin while addressing his Gujarati fans after Gujarat Titans secured a top-two finish in IPL 2026 with a heavy win over Chennai Super Kings.
Rashid had plenty to feel good about beyond the result. He dismantled CSK’s lower-middle order, striking for figures of 3 wickets for 18 runs across two overs. The impact also lifted him to fourth place on the Purple Cap standings. While he hasn’t looked like his usual self during the last couple of IPL seasons, this campaign has seen him turn the clock back, aided by a pace group that has consistently done its job and more.
On Thursday night, Rashid began his spell in the 11th over with CSK already under pressure while chasing 230 for victory. CSK were 109 for 5 at the time. He started by bowling Dewald Brevis with a single, but Shivam Dube launched the very next delivery for six. The ball was pitched on a slightly straighter track and served to Dube on a hitting line as well. The following over ball brought the breakthrough: Dube was dismissed, with the catch taken by Shubman Gill, who raced in and dived to complete it. Next, Anshul Kamboj came in and struck Rashid for another six, but Rashid still finished the over with control, ending with 3 wickets for 18 runs after starting it with figures moving to 1 for 14. A complete spell.
Rashid explained the thinking behind defending a big total. “When you’re protecting 230, it’s normal that the batting side will try to score. You’re not going to get the luxury of 18 to 20 dot balls. Batters are going after you, but as a bowler you have to make it really difficult—harder to hit the ball cleanly and to the boundary. I felt that the first ball I bowled to him [Dube]—the one that went for six—was something he could attack comfortably. So I decided to attempt a tougher option by bowling away from him and seeing how it plays. For that kind of length, the line matters a lot. In matches like this, batters don’t really have a choice but to chase your deliveries. That’s why we practise—so we’re mentally and physically prepared for any situation.”
There is a reason Rashid remains the leading wicket-taker in T20 internationals, with 193 scalps, while Ish Sodhi sits second with 165. In T20 cricket overall, Rashid has 721 wickets, with Dwayne Bravo next best on 631. His numbers reflect not just skill, but how he approaches the mental side of bowling and the way he prepares his mindset.
Rashid also spoke about dealing with swings in performance. “You’ll always have good days and bad days. How you manage yourself on the good ones, you also need to know how to manage yourself on the bad ones. Whenever I’ve had a bad day, I never let it sit too heavily in my mind. That’s where you learn a lot, and that’s why we keep getting better—we keep learning. And if you keep doing well, you won’t really have those bad days in the first place. You can learn plenty even when you’re not at your best.”
He then pointed to a specific lesson from 2019. “On that day in 2019 [against England in the ODI World Cup], I had a spell where I went for more than 100 runs in nine overs [9-0-110-0]. After that, you can’t really change much because so many things stay the same. You can’t suddenly alter your action or your pace. The one thing you can do is keep landing in the correct area consistently. I felt I missed my line and length in that game, so I stayed focused on hitting the right spots repeatedly after it.”
Rashid underlined that routine matters more than the scoreboard. “No matter what the result is, I don’t change my practise. Keep putting in that hard work. If I do well, or if I don’t do well, I still know what makes me a better bowler—and what makes me better is landing in the right area consistently. That’s especially key now because batters attack you straight away. When you go back to your room and you look at your pitch map—that matters most to me. For every match I play, I ask the video analyst to send me the pitch map. I check where I delivered the maximum balls and what I can improve. If I miss my line, I ask why I missed it. I don’t really think too much about what came in the result.”
Rashid’s IPL trajectory has included two uneven seasons. In 2024, he recorded an average campaign—10 wickets in 12 matches with an economy rate of 8.40. The following year in 2025 was even tougher: nine wickets in 15 games at an economy of 9.35. This season, the wicket count has arrived—19 wickets—and the economy has improved to 8.72.
His current rhythm has nearly matched the overall direction of Gujarat Titans. GT were champions in their debut year in 2022 and finished runners-up in 2023. They slipped to eighth place in 2024 after managing only five wins. They still reached the playoffs in 2025, but the push came largely despite Rashid’s contributions, with the main drivers being their top three batters: Gill, B Sai Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler. This year, performances from both departments appear to be clicking together. GT have also been the most consistently successful franchise since joining the league in 2022, boasting a win-loss ratio of 1.642. The team sitting second is Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) with a ratio of 1.433.
On the season’s momentum, Rashid said, “Winning nine games out of 14 feels great for the team. Overall, we’ve had a strong winning percentage. It’s about staying simple. We’re not here to obsess over finishing in the top four or top two, but those things will follow as long as we keep things straightforward.”
