Rashid Khan’s Form, Fourth Seamer Slot Raise Eyebrows as GT Near Playoffs

Former cricketers Varun Aaron and Tom Moody have expressed their concerns ahead of the IPL 2025 playoffs. Rashid Khan and the fourth seamer are the main issues they discussed on the Time Out show.

Gujarat Titans lost their fourth match of the season against LSG. As per Varun Aaron, the reason GT have lost has been because of their fourth seamer, which has been covered by their great batting.

The Fourth Seamer Problem

Aaron said on ESPNcricinfo’s Time Out Show, “I think the biggest problem GT have had throughout the whole season and that’s been really camouflaged by their great batting is their third [or fourth] seamer. Ishant Sharma was in and out. He was really expensive. Arshad Khan, again, was in and out, came back in now. Khejroliya played one game. So I think teams are going to look to go really hard against that third seamer.”

“If they get a lot of runs against the third seamer, then Prasidh Krishna comes [in early] and goes a little searching for wickets because he has been that guy who has gotten them wickets. Exactly what happened today – the third seamer has gone for runs, and throughout the tournament that’s been a pattern.”

Rashid Trying to Find His Rhythm After Surgery

“It was late. Normally you see Rashid come in when you’re in desperate need to strike. But that tells you maybe something about where the confidence is when it comes to Rashid Khan at the moment, not only from his own personal point of view, but also the captaincy’s point of view. You know, we’re not going to introduce him too early,” Tom Moody, Aaron’s co-panellist, said. “But Sai Kishore, you can’t take too much away from him. He got the nod ahead of Rashid. He’s still a very crafty bowler. But he was hit by a tidal wave today.”

“He [Rashid] has taken time to find his rhythm again. Any bowler, whether you are a spinner or a pace bowler, coming back from a significant back surgery, it takes time. It’s not only the mechanical side of things, it’s confidence as well, that comes with that.”

Moody also stated that GT doesn’t need to read too much into this game. He believes at this stage of the league, they need to look forward and not get distracted by focusing on their losses.

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