IPL 2022: He was not much of a wicket-taker – SRH batting coach Brian Lara on Rashid Khan

Sunrisers Hyderabad batting coach Brian Lara feels the franchise is not missing their former talisman spinner Rashid Khan as he wasn’t much of a wicket-taker.

As Rashid always bowled accurately and it isn’t easy for the opposition to pick him, the batters have always been extra cautious while playing against him.

Ergo, the opposition has always been happy to take 20-28 runs off Rashid Khan’s four overs quota without giving him too many wickets. Meanwhile, Rashid Khan picked 93 wickets for SRH in 76 innings at an economy rate of just 6.33 and strike rate of 19.5.

However, he was not retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad, and thus he was picked by Gujarat Titans from the player’s draft. On the other hand, the Orange Army was able to rope in Washington Sundar, who is known for his accurate PowerPlay bowling.

However, as Sundar has missed the last few matches due to a hand injury, Jagadeesha Suchith has replaced him in the playing XI.

“I have great respect for Rashid Khan but I believe we have the right combination. Rashid Khan was someone who opposition teams decided to defend against, he was not much of a wicket-taker,” Lara said after SRH’s win against Royal Challengers Bangalore.

“Yes (economy of) 5.5-6 runs per over is great but I think when you have a guy like Washington Sundar spinning the ball into the left-handers in the first six overs, He is an asset. Suchith has come in as his replacement due to injury and he is an asset as well.

Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad had lost their first two matches of the season and they looked in all sorts of trouble. However, SRH has bounced back stronger as they have won their last five matches.

The team has gone in with four fast bowlers and the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Marco Jansen, and Umran Malik have done a fine job for the team. Furthermore, SRH also has Shreyas Gopal, who is waiting in the wings.

“We have gone in with four fast bowlers every single game so far. Of course, the pitches may change, they may have less grass later on. We have Shreyas Gopal as well, though he hasn’t had a game so far. He is also someone who has a hat-trick in the IPL. I still think we have a lot in the reserves to show the IPL and I am not too worried. All respect to Rashid Khan, if he was a member of this team, I think we might have been 7 out of 7, I don’t know,” Lara added.

The Kane Williamson-led team will next face Gujarat Titans at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Wednesday.