It's a no-brainer, SRH must retain Rashid Khan if franchises are allowed to retain foreign players: Virender Sehwag

Former India and Delhi Capitals opener Virender Sehwag reckons that Sunrisers Hyderabad need not retain any bowler from their current contingent ahead of the IPL mega auction, scheduled in 2022.

However, Sehwag does feel that if the teams are allowed to retain foreign players, then the SRH management must ensure to not release Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, whose stocks in every format of the game have been on a constant upward trend ever since the start of his professional career.

“From these bowlers [current SRH players] I would not retain even a single one, not even Bhuvneshwar Kumar. I agree that he will be playing for India, he is a brilliant T20 bowler, but if SRH has to retain only one bowler, the amount of money (INR 15-16 crores) they will have to spend would be way too much. They might be able to acquire Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the auction at a lower price,” Sehwag told Cricbuzz.

On being asked about Rashid Khan, Sehwag said: “That call [whether foreign players can be retained or not] has not been made yet. If indeed foreign players can be retained, then Rashid Khan is a no-brainer of a choice. No matter the team, everyone would want to retain that kind of a player, he is that good”.

“But it will have to be seen in which slot would he be retained. That’s the decisive factor regarding what would he receive in return. If Rashid Khan says, ‘I want to be retained as the first player, and I must get that 15-crore bracket’, then SRH management might think to release him and try to bag him in the auction.

“In doing that, even if the management needs to spend 15 Crore on him, they would be willing to because retaining him would have anyway cost them that much.”

A T20 freelancer in his own right, Rashid Khan has been one of the most sought-after players in franchise-based cricket. He has bagged 89 wickets at a brilliant economy rate of 6.24 in his 73-match IPL career, while his 2021 tally reads 14 wickets in 11 games.