Shaikh Rasheed made his IPL debut for CSK recently.
Young Indian cricketer Shaikh Rasheed recently had a moment to cherish when he made his IPL debut for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a game against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) last week. Rasheed scored 27 runs off 19 balls while opening against Lucknow Super Giants.
He followed it up with a 20-ball 19 against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Sunday. According to Shaikh Balisha Vali, Rasheed’s father, MS Dhoni assured that Chennai Super Kings would take utmost care of the youngster.
Chennai Super Kings had acquired Shaikh Rasheed for INR 20 lakh in 2023. This was after Rasheed had scored 201 runs from four matches in India’s successful 2022 T20 World Cup campaign. He scored two half-centuries during the process.
“We were informed by CSK that they will pick him in the auction. We were told that they were following him from the U-16 days. As soon as he won the U-19 World Cup, they picked him. Before CSK, Rasheed’s game was built around defence. After going there, he learnt the attacking game. He introduced me to MS Dhoni in 2023,” Balisha Vali was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
The cricketer from Jharkhand then told Shaikh Rasheed’s father: “Leave Rasheed’s career to us. We like his discipline and game a lot. Leave his career to us, just take care of his fitness and give him good food when he comes home”.
ALSO READ:
When he was seven years old, Rasheed participated in a cricket summer camp in Uppal with about 300 other players who were twice his age. Coaches at the camp soon noted Shaikh Rasheed’s big-hitting abilities and encouraged to give his son full-fledged cricket coaching.
“Before this, I did not know he was that talented, but after this, I took him daily to practice and brought him back home,” Balisha said.
Rasheed improved his batting under former Andhra cricketer AG Prasad and came back to Guntur, his hometown, to undergo trials. He was then selected in the U-14 Andhra team and the U-16 Guntur Zilla team.
His father endured a difficult time, switching between jobs and even working as a daily wage worker to serve the needs of his son. “I started working as a daily wage employee in a vegetable market, selling vegetables and fruits. I used to make sure I could earn 600-800 every day for a small petty job,” said Balisha.
In 2022, Rasheed made his First-Class debut for Andhra in a Ranji Trophy match against Services. Rasheed scored 23 runs and 43 runs in the two innings respectively. Till date, Rasheed has played 19 First-Class matches and scored 1204 runs, including seven fifties and two centuries.
He even scored a double century in a Ranji Trophy match against Hyderabad in November 2024, just days before the IPL 2025 mega auction that took place in Saudi Arabia.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Telegram, and YouTube.
