They talk of magic being some sort of illusion, some sort of trick to deceive you into believing that what you are watching is real, when in fact, it's not. That's how the cynical mind works: there's nothing really magical about anything. It can be explained. So, therefore, Rashid Khan's bowling is no magic either. It can be explained. Or so they want to think.
TEST CRICKET AWAITS RASHID KHAN
Test cricket awaits Rashid Khan's magic
Will Rashid Khan achieve the same level of overwhelming success in the longest format as well? © AFP
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Are you watching closely?
The trick lies in his bowling action. It's unlike anything anyone has ever seen. Rashid races through the crease in delivery stride, while his arm propels itself forward with a ferocity that mangonels dream of. If in between all this, a batsman somehow manages to catch a glimpse of his wrist in the hopes of differentiating a leg-break from a googly, then they're in for a bit of a shocker.
"I don't use my wrist, I only use my fingers and that's what makes me different. I use the top of my fingers and that's where I get the speed. If I use my wrist I will be slower," Rashid revealed during the IPL.
Deception is the name of the game in Twenty20 cricket, and Rashid has got that aspect nailed. He pretty much rules the format. How do you attack a spinner who you can't pick? The pace at which he bowls makes it very hard to adjust off the deck either. And add to that his bowling smarts.
In the recently concluded IPL, there were two specific games in which he started bowling fuller and a bit slower. Now, Rashid generally fires them in on a length, but this was a deviation from that. The first time he did it, against Kings XI Punjab, he was smashed for his
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