New Delhi, February 24 Does a mystery spinner retain his mystique if he is constantly exposed at the international level?
Well, it's a matter of debate, but it's clear that leading batsmen are not just reading him from hand, but coaches have also devised strategies to counter him effectively.
Setting aside the Pakistan team, which doesn't participate in the IPL or play bilateral series against India, two top nations – New Zealand and South Africa – have done extremely well against the Tamil Nadu player.
He has been plundered for 208 runs in 20 overs across his last five matches against them, including Sunday's T20 World Cup Super Eights fixture against South Africa.
While he has taken nine wickets, an economy rate of 10.40 is significantly higher than his career economy rate of 7.11.
So, what exactly are players like Finn Allen, Glenn Phillips, Dewald Brevis, and David Miller doing right?
"For any bowler, you first take away his strength. If it's a googly, you play for it or anticipate the googly and adjust accordingly. This has been the case with Rashid Khan. Everyone is better at playing him (Rashid) or Varun now because they are anticipating the googly, the ball that gets most batsmen out," former Mumbai batsman Zubin Bharucha, who has worked with many young Indian star batsmen, shared his observation with
