4 statistical phenomena that have accompanied the rise of Rashid Khan

An exponential career growth is rare, but it does happen. And Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan is a good example of that.

Five years ago, nobody knew his name. But now the leggie is the hottest asset in T20. In the 2017 IPL auctions he went for an astonishing bid of Rs. 4 crore, with Sunrisers Hyderabad acquiring his services. From then on, his career curve has been onwards and upwards.

While leggies are often known to concede runs, their numerous variations make up for that. One of the pros of being a leg-spinner, especially a wrist spinner, is that they don't depend on the pitch to generate turn - unlike off-spinners.

Rashid Khan is now a part of various T20 franchises all over the world, including the Sunrisers Hyderabad (Indian Premier League), Guyana Amazon Warriors (Caribbean Premier League), Adelaide Strikers (Big Bash League), Kabul Zwanan (Afghanistan Premier League), Durban Heat (Mzanzi Super League), and Comilla Victorians (Bangladesh Premier League).

Also, he is now the No. 2 and No. 1 ranked bowler in ODIs and T20Is respectively. In addition to that, he leads the all-rounders' charts in ODIs.

So what makes him so successful? Here's a look at four stats-based factors that have contributed to his rise:

#1 International performances

For a player representing an associate nation, the chances of playing in international fixtures are minimal. But Rashid has taken every opportunity that has come his way.

Picking 118 wickets in 50 ODIs and 64 wickets in 35 T20Is is brilliant for any bowler. But given that Rashid has just entered his 20s, these figures are mind-boggling.

Rashid's international bowling ratios

ODIs

Spinners are often brought on during the middle overs in ODIs to curtail the run flow and to break partnerships, and Rashid seems to be doing that job beyond expectations. He has a fabulous economy of 3.91 in ODIs, and his average of 14.47 is pretty good too. On an average, he picks more than two wickets per ODI match.

Rashid preys on the middle order

Breaking the opening partnership could bring down the confidence of the batting order and force them to adapt. Spinners are generally called on only after 10 or 12 overs. But as the statistics show, Rashid has been the cause of 26 top-order dismissals in just 50 innings.

Middle-order partnerships increase the chances of a win, and there lies the challenge for the bowlers. In the case of Rashid, it is evident that he has time and again rattled the middle-order. Almost half of his victims are middle-order batsmen.

Rashid uses the googly to get a lot of wickets

The trump card for any leg-spinner is the 'googly'. A deceptive delivery, it gives leggies a higher probability of bowling batsmen or trapping them leg-before. This is the case for Rashid as well; he bowls the googly regularly to great effect.

T20Is

T20Is are all about consistency in getting wickets and maintaining a decent economy rate. Rashid is as consistent as any bowler in the format.

Just like in ODIs, Rashid is most effective against middle-order batsmen

In the shortest format, openers are required to be aggressive and take advantage of the powerplay. Despite only four overs being available to a bowler, star spinners are often given a quick go early in the innings.

Rashid too has been successful at this, picking up 13 top-order wickets. But as expected, a major chunk of his wickets are middle-order batsmen.

The scenario for tailenders is different in Twenty20 cricket as compared to ODIs. In T20s, any player batting at any position can turn the match situation. A hard-hitting low-order batsman can score a fast 20 or 30 runs to turn the match.

But Rashid is a clever bowler who can be trusted to close out matches by preventing such late flourishes.

Rashid can trick even the best batsmen

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#2 T20 league performances

It is an uphill task for all star bowlers to adapt and prove their worth on any pitch, against any opponent, on any ground. While Indian and subcontinental pitches tend to favor spin, pitches in Australia, South Africa and England assist pacers and swing bowlers. There is a clear diversity in the nature of pitches around the world.

Rashid's performance across leagues; BBL stats only til January 21, 2019

As Rashid represents Afghanistan, an associate member, he cannot compete against top-ranked teams. But the numerous T20 leagues across the globe have turned out to be ideal platforms for him. Even the likes of AB de Villiers, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni have fallen to his bowling.

Till date, Rashid has played in six T20 leagues (internationally recognized) and performed consistently well across these leagues. As on 21 January 2019, he has 108 wickets in these leagues.

Moreover, he possesses an economy of under 7.00 in each of these leagues, which is a tremendous achievement in T20s.

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#3 Speed and variations

Generally, a leggie rolls his wrist and makes the ball come slowly on to the batsman. But certain leg-spinners like Shahid Afridi and Rashid use extra pace along with turn, making it difficult for the batsmen to rotate the strike or go for lofted shots.

As far as his two IPL editions are concerned, 15 of the 38 wickets Rashid has taken were through googlies, out of which 11 exceeded 90 kph. More than half of the wickets were bowled at speeds exceeding 91 kph, and some even touching 9-99 kph.

Almost 25% of Rashid's dismissals were via conventional leg-spin, and these deliveries were also mostly greater than 90 kph. Only around 18% of his wickets were bowled at a speed of less than 88 kph.

A leggie can exhibit several variations such as leg-break, top-spin, googly, flipper, slider / zooter. Here is a look at what each of them represents:

- Leg break- This is the stock delivery of a leg-spinner.

- Top-spin - The ball pitches in and dips quickly, and comes straight on to the batsman without any turn.

- Googly - The ball is pitched outside off and appears to be a leg break, but instead, it comes on towards the batsman, like off-spin.

- Flipper - The ball is bowled short, with low bounce, and it travels straight.

- Slider / zooter - This variation is rarely used by leg spinners. Unlike top-spin, as slider carries the ball to a fuller length and creates low bounce in unexpected fashion.

Rashid Khan mainly uses three variations - the leg break, top-spin and the googly. The fact that he bowls googlies more frequently than other leg-spinners, makes him a more consistent wicket-taker. This is confirmed by the observation that most of his wickets have been in the form of LBW and bowled.

Here are a few videos that show the speeds of Rashid's wicket-taking deliveries:

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#4 Batting Ability

Rashid is a bit of a pocket dynamite as a batsman. His hitting abilities are pretty good given the fact that he is a tailender.

In 148 T20s, he has had the opportunity to showcase his batting skills in 66 innings, and he has scored 540 runs at a strike-rate of 151.68, with 42 sixes and 32 fours.

Top four tailenders who have batted at least 15 innings

Moreover, Rashid has scored 116 and 676 in T20Is and ODIs respectively. In addition to that, his average strike-rates are 175.0 and 165.08 in the IPL and BBL respectively.

GRAPH 8 - Data of top 5 tail-lenders in terms of most runs scored (2014-present)

The stats show that Rashid the batsman has the ability to extend his team's total by an extra 30-40 runs. This is also why leads the all-rounders' rankings in ODIs.

The fact that Rashid has established himself as a game changer at the age of just 20 is an inspiration. He has consistently justified his selection by the numerous T20 franchises who have invested in him, and looks set for a long and successful career across formats.

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