Sometimes you have a bad month or even a year - Rashid Khan

Rashid Khan is playing in his 10th IPL season. Once considered the best T20 spinner in the world, the Afghanistan legend has been off the boil of late. He has not been as effective in the last two seasons as he was in the previous seven years. His response is 'you have good days and bad days. Sometimes you have a bad month or even a year.'

In conversation with Cricbuzz, he reflects on his journey in the IPL, the growing domination of batters in the league, and the opportunity to lead Gujarat Titans, albeit temporarily. Excerpts:

How is Shubman Gill? Will he be available for the next game?

He is great. He will be available, Inshaallah!

Not the start you would have wanted. What has gone wrong?

Well, I think things went right for us, in fact. Two close games, and we just didn't finish them well. Overall, we controlled 35-36 overs, but it just didn't go our way in the last two or three overs. But we've learned from that. We will move forward and come back strong in the next game.

And for you personally, what is it like captaining a team in front of about 80,000 people?

It's a huge honour to captain a team in the IPL, one of the biggest leagues in the world. I think it's more than a proud moment for me. Ten years back, I wouldn't even have thought about playing in the IPL. And now, leading a team in the IPL is a huge honour.

There is a lot of learning for me as a player, to be among the leaders and be part of discussions. And it gives me the opportunity to learn. It is a huge honour to lead the team in front of that big crowd. And yeah, I really enjoyed it - it was something very special for me. It gives you an opportunity, when you are in the leadership group.

These are early days still in the season but how do you see the season for GT and the league panning out?

I don't see anything different. We've worked really hard, trained really hard. Everyone is in a very good frame of mind and looking forward to the season. Yes, we had a bad start - but I think overall we played good cricket. So, we look forward to having a good 12 games.

We're looking forward to coming back stronger, playing with full strength and the right mindset, and giving 100 percent on the ground. Regardless of what the result is, it's something that is out of our control. But the effort we put on the ground is something that is in our control, and we make sure we put in all the effort there.

The IPL is like it goes every year. I think it's still the same teams playing for the trophy and competing every day. It's nothing much different. So, we hope to see some close encounters.

Looks like the season will see many 200-plus totals...

If you bowl badly, the runs are going to flow. But if you bowl well, I don't see those runs coming. It depends on individual bowlers and the bowling unit. I think if you bowl well, you will see lower scores. If you bowl badly, you could even see 400. But it depends on how the bowling unit performs every day.

Batters have been more dominant than bowlers, aren't they?

Over the last two or three years, yes, I think they are coming up with a different kind of mindset when it comes to scoring runs. But it's something you can't really think about. Most of the time, if you think they're going to score 200-250, it's going to happen anyway.

But if you have a strong mindset of hitting the right areas consistently, delivering your best and believing in your skills, I think out of 10, it's going to happen two or three times. Yes, the conditions are there for the batters, but you still have to execute your plans and bowl well. I think as long as you keep that mindset, it's not going to be that hard.

Do you think that the life of spinners, in particular, has become difficult?

I don't agree entirely. It is a little bit, if you don't get the kind of spin you want as a bowler that puts the batter in doubt about which way it will go or if you're not beating the batter or hitting the wicket like before. But that doesn't happen a lot. I feel that if you hit the right areas consistently, you're definitely going to get positive results.

In the IPL, it is said that coaches tell the batters to play you as an off-spinner so that they can counter your googlies. Your comments?

I think the batters can give you the answer to this but does being an off-spinner make you a bad bowler? An off-spinner is still a bowler. My job is just to hit the right areas consistently. And if it doesn't spin, you can play any bowler, especially an off-spinner, because the ball is coming straight to you. But if you spin it, that's different.

Everyone has a different mindset and different opinions. We have seen great off-spinners - Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin - they are all great spinners. They have taken wickets, even hat-tricks, and a great number of wickets.

I think it's just a mindset - different people have different views. For me, I am a leg-spinner and I bowl leg-spin. So if it spins, I am going to spin it. If it doesn't spin, the ball is going to come straight to you.

How do you personally look at your evolution over the 10 years you have been part of the IPL? Never before have you had fewer than 17 wickets in a season, but the last two seasons have not been as effective - 10 and 9 wickets respectively. Your economy rate was also below 7 earlier, whereas in the last three seasons it has been over 8 - particularly in the last two.

A year back, yes, I got around 10-11 wickets. But at that time, we played only a few games - some were washed out. Imagine if we had played those two or three games - I could have got 6-7 more wickets. It would have been like 17-18 wickets in a season.

For me, it's just about how you are feeling. It's not just about what you see in the media. I see myself in a very good frame of mind. You do have good days and bad days, and you have to accept that. Sometimes you have a bad month or even a year. But right now, it's more important how I feel. What happened in the past is gone. Right now, I feel so good, so energetic, and I'm really looking forward to the season.

Who has or have been difficult to bowl to over the years?

I don't see who is good or who is bad. It's not something where you put a tag on someone - like this guy is good or this guy is bad. It's all up to you. If you bowl badly, I think anybody can go after you and hit you. But it's all about you. I focus only on myself - my line and length.

I don't look at the batter. Whoever is there, it's just about how you manage to bowl in the right areas. If you bring it into your mind that this guy is going to hit me, that he's stronger or more powerful, then I don't think your bowling will be that effective. So, for me, it's just about keeping it simple - hitting the right areas against any batter. Good length - just bowl a good length.

Mystery spinners do not appear as effective of late as they were in the past. Like Varun Chakaravarthy. Even Noor Ahmed.

As I mentioned, you do have good days and bad days - good starts and bad starts. But you can't really think too much about what happens in one or two games. You do have good starts - last season, Noor had a great start. It doesn't mean he was a good bowler then and is now a bad bowler.

Varun Chakaravarthy has bowled really well over the years - one or two games doesn't mean something has suddenly changed. It's cricket - it happens to anybody, anytime. In our last game, like yesterday, (Ravi) Bishnoi (of Rajasthan Royals), took four wickets. So it doesn't mean leg-spinners or mystery spinners are out of fashion. If you bowl in the right areas, you will definitely get the right result - not today, maybe tomorrow.

How about Varun Chakaravarthy?

I will ask him when I will sit with him. And then I can answer you what happened.

Two games and two defeats. Where do Gujarat Titans go from here?

Well, take it one game at a time and perform well for the team. We've had four great seasons, so we look forward to continuing that and having a wonderful season this year as well.