'Kind Of Mistake I Have Made...': Rashid Khan Opens Up On What Went Wrong
Rashid Khan admitted returning to cricket too soon after back surgery post-2023 ODI World Cup. After a tough IPL 2025, he took a break and returned strong in The Hundred.
Afghanistan's premier leg-spinner Rashid Khan admitted he made an error by returning to cricket too quickly following his back surgery, which took place shortly after the 2023 ODI World Cup.
After a challenging IPL 2025 campaign, where he conceded 33 sixes while playing for Gujarat Titans (GT), Rashid took two months off and returned with a match-winning 3-11 in defending champions Oval Invincibles' victory over London Spirit in their first game of The Hundred at Lord's.
'After IPL, I needed the kind of break where my body gets back to normal. I worked a little bit on my strength. And especially coming back from back surgery, I hadn't had much time to rehab properly. That's where I did a bit of mistake to restart my cricket so quickly at that time."
'And I feel like I didn't let myself properly recover, and I pushed it a little bit at that time, and I can see the disadvantage of that now. But after IPL (2025), I felt like I needed that kind of two months off where I can just focus on my fitness," Rashid was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo on Saturday.
Rashid led Afghanistan to the semi-finals of the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup, before back and hamstring injuries caused him to miss the BBL and PSL. He returned in January 2025 for the second Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, taking 11 wickets in 55 overs and being named Player of the Match. However, the physical toll was evident in his less memorable campaigns in the Champions Trophy and IPL 2025.
'When I came back to cricket after surgery, I was told not to rush back in the longer formats (Tests and ODIs) that quickly as that was not going to help me. About eight to nine months after I had started to play post surgery, I bowled 65 (55) overs in the Bulawayo Test. That really pushed my back a little bit, and I felt it at that time. I shouldn't have been in whites (to play Tests)."
'In T20s, it's fine – you can manage yourself – but for the longer formats, I was advised that you should be away from that format for some time. That is the kind of mistake I have made. But the team needed that. At that time, we had lost a few games in Test cricket, but that's something where I rushed myself a little bit, and I didn't give myself time and I felt it later on."
After IPL 2025, Rashid withdrew from the MLC in the USA, where he was to play for MI New York, to focus on recovery and strengthen his lower back. He did spot bowling two or three times a week, along with some batting practice, and spent time relaxing with his family after getting married in October last year.
'After IPL finished, for three weeks, I didn't touch the ball. I spent most of my time with my family, (and) my nephews – going around with them, (and) had fun – just to take all those memories and stuff and bad days out of my mind, and then restart with the cricket. That's what I did just to be refreshed, and then got back on track and got back bowling in the right spot," he concluded.
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