Laxman Sivaramakrishnan Sheds Light on How to Deal With Rashid Khan's Variations

There is no doubt about the fact that Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan is the best in business when it comes to the shortest version of the game. He was at his imperious best during the recently-concluded three-matches Twenty20 International series against Bangladesh.

Moreover, it was Rashid’s consistent performances which helped Afghanistan to register a historic clean sweep against the Tigers by a 3-0 margin.

The 19-year-old professional Rashid bagged the Player of the Match Awards in the first couple of matches. While he bagged three in the first outing, he ended up with stunning figures of four for 12 in the second T20I.

Apart from it, he was also quite brilliant in the final T20I. Rashid managed to defend just nine runs in the final over with set batsmen Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad at the crease.

Rashid has been a champion bowler in the limited-overs format. However, it remains to be seen whether he can be equally effective in Test cricket.

Afghanistan will meet India in a One-off Test starting from 14^th June at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Till now, Rashid has played four first-class matches and has bagged 35 wickets at an average of 15.

So much so, it goes on to prove the impact of the man in all formats of the game. However, the longest format will be a new ball game and Afghanistan will need something pretty dramatic to challenge the No. 1 side in the world.

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Siva’s advice:

Meanwhile, it must be noted that Afghanistan will be touring India with the most potent spin attack. There is a possibility that India might opt for a green pitch given the top class spinners Afghanistan have.

On the other hand, it was many decades ago that Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, a former Indian leg-spinner bamboozled England batters with his variations, He bagged 12 wickets and went on to dominate in the Benson and Hedges World Series Cup way back in 1985.

The then captain Sunil Gavaskar kept persisting with him and it paid rich dividends. He has now pointed out on how to pick Rashid’s leg-spin and odd googlies.

Laxman Sivaramakrishnan gave his opinion through a Facebook status given by former Mumbai skipper Shishir Hattangadi.

“If in his grip there is no gap between his fingers, then it’s a leg break. If there is a gap between the index finger and the middle finger it’s a googly,” said Shiva.

Rohan Gavaskar’s take:

It also drew a response from several cricketers including Rohan Gavaskar, who gave his take.

“They do a split screen and then show us (having to freeze the frame ) what the grip for the googly [sic] is and what the grip for the leg break is. All teams would be having the same footage also. It’s easier said than done when it comes to picking him at full speed and under pressure: easier when u have the advantage of replays and slow motion,” Rohan said.

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