IPL 2022 | Gujarat Titans appoint Rashid Khan as vice-captain

Gujarat Titans on Sunday (March 27) appointed Rashid Khan, Afghanistan’s premier leg-spinner, as their vice-captain ahead of their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 opening fixture against Lucknow Super Giants. Rashid was drafted by Gujarat Titans ahead of the 2022 mega auction for INR 15 crore, the same amount that they paid for their captain Hardik Pandya.

The Titans made an official announcement on their social media handle by posting an adorable picture of Hardik and Rashid having a laugh together. Then, they shared the moment in a video with a caption that read “In yet another #SeasonOfFirsts, Rashid Bhai becomes our vice-captain.”

Rashid has the experience of captaining Afghanistan in international cricket. Under his leadership, Afghanistan won one Test match, one ODI and four T20Is. He resigned as Afghanistan's T20I captain before the start of the 2021 T20 World Cup, which took place in Oman and the UAE.

Rashid, aged 23, is excited at the prospect of playing alongside Hardik at Gujarat Titans. The duo has never played together ever, having represented Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL in the past. The leg-spinner lauded the Titans skipper for giving positive vibes.

Before the 2022 auction in Bengaluru last month, the Titans picked Hardik (INR 15 crore), Rashid (INR 15 crore) and Shubman Gill (INR 7 crore) as their draft picks. They will make their debut in the IPL when they go up against KL Rahul-led Lucknow Super Giants on Monday (March 28) at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.