Afghanistan spin twins Rashid Khan and Noor Ahmad’s brilliance was on display for the Gujarat Titans against the Rajasthan Royals on Friday, May 5 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur in the 2023 Indian Premier League. Gujarat Titans assistant coach Aashish Kapoor expressed that Noor Ahmad was a “left-handed Rashid Khan”.
The spin duo has bowled brilliantly in the tournament so far, picking 28 wickets between themselves. Rashid Khan took three wickets against the Rajasthan Royals, while Noor Ahmad picked a couple of wickets. The hosts were bowled out for a paltry 118 runs, and eventually lost by nine wickets. Speaking after the match, Aashish Kapoor praised Noor Ahmad and revealed the story behind his selection. He said,
“I had given his (Noor Ahmad) name to lots of teams at that point in time. I told Zaheer Khan, VVS Laxman to pick this guy, he was only 17 at that point. But they did not want to,”
“I told (Ashish) Nehra you pick whoever you want, but let me pick one guy, that’s Noor. Not many people knew about him. For me, he was a left-handed Rashid Khan. If you want Rashid Khan at whatever amount and you’re getting another one who is a left-hander… both can be a deadly combination,” he added.
From making the most out of the opportunity to play in IPL to executing bowling to perfection 😎
On the mic with Spin Twins @rashidkhan_19 & Noor Ahmad post @gujarat_titans‘ resounding win in Jaipur 👌🏻👌🏻
Full Interview 🎥🔽 #TATAIPL | #RRvGT https://t.co/3MZm30VfjJ pic.twitter.com/mR9Cn0cKaQ
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 6, 2023
Your action is different, my action is different: Aashish Kapoor reveals Rashid Khan’s advice to Noor Ahmad
Gujarat Titans assistant coach Aashish Kapoor further revealed Rashid Khan’s advice to Noor Ahmad. He expressed that Rashid asked Noor to develop his bowling style, and not imitate him. The coach also added that Noor Ahmad’s inclusion gives the Gujarat Titans better strategic options in the ongoing Indian Premier League season. He said
“Rashid kept telling him no you can’t bowl like me, you have to bowl like yourself. Your action is different, my action is different. When he realized that, he started bowling better.”
“Earlier, because of having one spinner, we had to use two overs (of Rashid) up front, one in the middle, and one at the death and that was not too many options for us. But now if Rashid is bowling well, we can bowl four overs upfront because we have another spinner there who is going to be difficult (to pick),” he added.
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