Rashid Khan made his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 captaincy debut against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on April 17. Rashid had to don the captaincy hat because Hardik Pandya was not fully fit to take the field and Gujarat Titans (GT) did not want to risk him getting injured in the long tournament.
“Bit of stiffness in the groin area for Hardik, so as a team we didn't want to take a chance. He will rest and hopefully be back for the next game,” Rashid said after winning the toss on his captaincy debut.
Rashid had led Afghanistan in the limited-overs format earlier. Before the 10-team IPL 2022 kicked off, the leg-spinner was named vice-captain by the Gujarat-based franchise. The 23-year-old was one of the three players who were roped in by Titans before the mega auction.
“Super excited, it's kind of a dream. So I just want to learn as much as I can and give 100 percent. Matthew Wade is out and Saha is in. It's just to balance it out as Hardik is absent,” Rashid added.
Apart from replacing Wade with Wriddhiman, Rashid roped in Caribbean pacer Alzarri Joseph to bolster the bowling attack in all-rounder Hardik’s absence.
In Titans' previous clash, Hardik was phenomenal with the bat. Batting at no.4, he scored 87 runs from 52 deliveries including eight fours and four sixes to help Titans post 192/4 after Sanju Samson won the toss and opted to field first.
The Baroda all-rounder did well with the ball too. He conceded 18 runs from 15 deliveries and got the wicket of Rajasthan Royals' all-rounder James Neesham.
The 28-year-old is also third in race of orange cap with 228 runs from five games including two half-centuries.
