Rahul Tewatia picks this player as Gujarat Titans’ MVP
Gujarat Titans (GT) cricketer Rahul Tewatia reckoned that Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan could be the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the team in the 2022 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Khan made his IPL debut as a teenager back in 2017 after being picked by the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), then captained by David Warner.
Mohammad Nabi also joined the Sunrisers in the same season. From there on, Rashid didn’t look back and turned out to be a fulcrum of the Orange Army. With the Nangarhar-born Rashid in the team, SRH qualified for the playoffs three seasons in a row, although they failed to win the title.
In 76 IPL matches, Rashid has picked up 93 wickets at an economy rate of 6.33. Last season, he was the standout bowler for the Sunrisers, who finished at the bottom of the points table. But before the IPL mega auction, SRH released him and rather retained Kane Williamson, Abdul Samad and Umran Malik.
Thereafter, the Titans roped him in at INR 15 crores before the mega auction along with Hardik Pandya (INR 15 crores) and Shubman Gill (INR 8 crores). Tewatia didn’t mince words in saying that Rashid is expected to be a key element of their bowling unit.
How rare is Yash Dhull’s twin tons on First-class debut?
Rahul Tewatia makes his pick
“I mean all the players who are picked are really good and I cannot take just one name but, if I were to pick one then it would be Rashid Khan,” Tewatia was quoted as saying in an exclusive interview with CricTracker.
As far as Rahul Tewatia is concerned, he made a name for himself while playing for the Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 2020 and 2021 edition of the IPL. He registered himself at a base price of INR 40 lakhs and triggered a bidding war.
Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) fought hard for quite some time before the Titans joined at INR 2.20 crores. The Titans and CSK had a bidding war before the former bagged him for INR 9 crores.
Apart from Rashid and Rahul Tewatia, the Titans also have Afghanistan’s Noor Ahmad and Chennai’s R Sai Kishore in the spin-department. Ahmad recently played for the Afghan U19 team in the 2022 World Cup in the West Indies.