'Needed to work consistently on my fitness': Rashid Khan opens up about injury

After Gujarat Titans’ four-wicket victory over defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), spinner Rashid Khan reflected on his recovery from a back injury and also acknowledged the team’s ongoing struggles in the middle order. He explained that he chose to take extra time for rehabilitation to ensure he could return to full fitness.

Rashid has been managing back issues for some time, including surgery after the 2023 ODI World Cup in India. He returned to international cricket in Mar 2024 but has since played only limited-overs formats, with his last Test appearance coming in Jan last year, when he bowled more than 50 overs.

His recent IPL seasons have been challenging, with a dip in wicket-taking form. Across 2024 and 2025, he picked up just 19 wickets in 27 matches, as opposition teams either played him cautiously or attacked him aggressively.

However, in IPL 2026, he has shown signs of improvement, taking 10 wickets in nine matches at an average of 27.40, with best figures of 3/17. His latest performance included a tidy 2/19 spell against RCB, dismissing Tim David and Devdutt Padikkal.

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Speaking on Match Centre Live on JioHotstar, Rashid admitted he did not manage his recovery process as well as he should have after the injury, partly due to a rushed return and the demands of international cricket.

He also revealed that he struggled to follow a proper fitness routine during rehab and felt his early return was premature. He also pointed to his long bowling workload in a Test match shortly after coming back, which aggravated the issue again.

“It was a back injury and, given the energy I bowl with in my action and run-up, I needed to work consistently on my fitness after that injury, which, to be honest, I did not do. My rehab did not go as well as it should have. I only had about two to two-and-a-half months to get back on the field and, since those were Afghanistan matches, I had to play.”

"The second big mistake I made was playing a Test match, where I bowled around 67 overs, after which I felt the injury again. So, after the IPL last year, I wanted to give myself and my body more time to recover properly, complete my rehab, and regain the energy and intensity that I bowl with. It is all going well now and, hopefully, it continues," said Rashid.

On his performance against RCB, Rashid highlighted the importance of bowling in the right areas and maintaining a good economy rate, especially in the middle-overs phase, where RCB has taken off against pace and spin alike heavily throughout the tournament.

"Whenever I conceded runs, it was because I had bowled bad balls. So, that was on my mind. If I could minimise the percentage of those as much as possible, it would benefit me. My focus was to consistently hit the 5 to 5.5-metre length, which really helped me," he said.

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Coming to the match, GT produced a strong all-round bowling display, highlighted by a three-wicket haul from left-arm pacer Arshad Khan and two wickets each from Rashid Khan and Jason Holder, which helped them restrict RCB to 155.

However, the Titans once again gets exposed in their middle order during the chase, allowing RCB to stay competitive in a modest total. In contrast, aggressive powerplay batting from skipper Shubman Gill and Jos Buttler provided GT with a strong foundation as they moved to fifth place in the table with five wins from nine matches and 10 points.

With inputs from agencies