Decoding Rashid Khan’s Mystery spin

Rashid Khan has been outstanding both in domestic leagues all over the world and in International Cricket. Within a short span he has become one of the best leg spinners doing the rounds in International Cricket.

Rashid had a stellar IPL and finished as the highest wicket taker only behind Andrew Tye. The unique thing about Rashid is that he does not have too many changes in his wrist position and hand while he bowls his variations. Self admittedly Rashid has at least five different grips for a leg spin and this is what has helped him succeed.

Leg spin

In a recent interview to Cricbuzz, Rashid himself explained his wrist positions. Rashid calls himself a finger spinner more than a leg spinner because the maximum spin that he gets is not from the snap of his wrist but with his strong fingers.

Rashid bowls with a great arm speed and this is one of the reasons that the ball comes very quickly out of his hand. While most leg spinners bowl away from the head, Rashid’s arm comes very close to his ear which makes it difficult for the batsman to differentiate between his googly and leg spin.

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Flipper

Rashid holds the ball very tightly and pushes hard with his fingers which is what gives the ball lot of reps. The maverick that he is, Rashid does not bowl a traditional flipper as well. He just uses the grip of the leg spin but pushes the ball very quickly than his normal speed.

This does not change his bowling action or arm speed. The release also looks quite similar and has similar reps. However due to the quick pace, the ball does not grip in the surface and comes quickly with more bounce. This is what has led to the undoing of several top quality batsmen.