Has the mystery surrounding Rashid Khan’s bowling been unravelled? Has the Afghanistan leg-spinner lost his mojo and ability to pick up wickets?

This has been the most discussed topic in various quarters as the Gujarat Titans spinner struggles with his accuracy and ability to outsmart batters in IPL 2025. The opposition has shown the freedom to take risks against him as he lacks the control which made him almost unplayable in international cricket till a few years ago.

The statistics are revealing. In 14 league matches this season, Rashid has picked up only nine wickets at a strike-rate of 34.0 with an economy of 9.47. He has gone wicketless in seven out of those matches and 11 of 26 IPL games since 2024.

He has been struggling to consistently bowl the ideal length resulting in an increase in his economy rate, suggesting a decline in his abilities. Some experts suggest that his over-exposure to different professional leagues around the world has helped batters untangle the enigma associated with the Afghan’s bowling.

The slump started since Rashid’s back surgery after the 2023 World Cup and the common notion is that his rhythm and control seem to have been affected. He has struggled to get into his groove, been bowling a lot fuller and occasionally short indicating a difficulty in landing the ball where he desires.

The length had been his key strength and his failure in that aspect has exposed the chinks in Gujarat Titans’ bowling. The front hand of the bowler controls the length and if it falls too quickly it would mean being short and if it falls late, it will result in the ball being fuller. Gujarat assistant coach Aashish Kapoor said as much.

“Rashid went through a surgery because his back was hurting... Sometimes when you are in so much pain during matches, you tend to do certain things with your action so that it pains less. There have been a few things about which we spoke this year after 2-3 games, where he needs to make a few adjustments with his front hand, which has been rather closed, while it should be facing the batter. He is doing that now and bowling better lengths in the last two-three games,” Kapoor said recently.

It could be that Rashid is yet to attain peak fitness and that is affecting his bowling. Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson and a CSK veteran believes so.

“He’s been slightly off his best. He hasn’t been as consistent with his length, which is always one of his huge strengths. He very rarely bowled a short ball, or a full ball that you could really get under. So whether it’s his body, he’s still working through coming back after that back injury he had.

“He’s still managing how to consistently execute his ball variations from that really good length he’s accustomed to bowling. He’s just going to take a little bit of time to find his groove now that he’s had to work through his injury issues. But he is a champion. You never write off a champion,” Watson said.

There is talk that there could have been problems with Rashid’s rehab which could have affected his strength and conditioning.

His Titans teammate Gerald Coetzee, however, thinks he hasn’t been bowling badly.

“We see the way he trains. Rashid’s doing what he has done for years. I don’t know how many players in the world have more T20 games than him with the numbers and stats he has. We have full confidence in someone of that class to find his stride,” the South African pacer said.