Rashid Khan: Nine Seasons of Economy Data, One Uncomfortable Story
The Question Nobody Asked
If 5.34 was possible in 2020, what happened between then and 9.08 in 2026?
What the Data Says
Rashid Khan season-by-season economy (Cricsheet CC BY 3.0 + CricketStudio IPL 2026 snapshot):
| Season | Team | Matches | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | SRH | 14 | 17 | 6.63 |
| 2018 | SRH | 17 | 21 | 6.74 |
| 2019 | SRH | 15 | 17 | 6.38 |
| 2020/21 | SRH | 16 | 20 | 5.34 |
| 2021 | SRH | 14 | 18 | 6.67 |
| 2022 | GT | 16 | 19 | 6.60 |
| 2023 | GT | 17 | 27 | 8.24 |
| 2024 | GT | 12 | 10 | 8.40 |
| 2025 | GT | 15 | 9 | 9.35 |
| IPL 2026 | GT | 17 | 21 | 9.08 |
IPL 2026 phase splits:
| Phase | Balls | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Powerplay (ov 1–6) | 12 | 9 | 0 | 4.50 |
| Middle (ov 7–15) | 275 | 386 | 19 | 8.42 |
| Death (ov 16–20) | 54 | 106 | 2 | 11.78 |
(Source: CricketStudio IPL 2026 phase-split dataset, version 2026-06-11)
The Wow
The 5.34 in 2020/21 was not an outlier. His 2017–2022 average economy was 6.57 across six seasons — genuinely elite for a spinner in T20 franchise cricket.
The break point is 2023. In that year he posted 8.24 — a 1.64 RPO jump from his 2022 figure of 6.60. This is the IPL's Impact Player Rule era beginning.
Three patterns visible in the 2026 phase data:
- He is barely bowling in the powerplay: 12 balls across a full season. That is not a role change — leg-spinners rarely bowl the powerplay anyway. But it confirms his primary value is overs 7–15.
- The middle-overs economy (8.42) is high for a bowler of his calibre, but he is still taking wickets — 19 middle-overs wickets is the real reason GT keep bowling him.
- The death economy (11.78) is poor — but the 54-ball death sample suggests occasional, not regular, use in overs 16–20.
His 2026 economy of 9.08 is inflated by the same post-2023 environment that affected every IPL spinner. His 21 wickets at economy 9.08 is a different problem than an economy of 9.08 with 10 wickets. He is still taking wickets. The cost has risen.
What It Doesn't Say
The economy increase does not isolate whether the cause is Rashid getting older (he was born in 1998, so 27 in 2026), the Impact Player Rule raising every spinner's cost, or batters having studied him more thoroughly across nine seasons. Likely all three.
The 2020/21 figure (5.34) was achieved in the UAE, which has different pitch and conditions characteristics from India. It may not be a representative comparison for career-in-India economy.
Career wicket count: 158 (pre-2026) + 21 (IPL 2026) = ~179 wickets, making him one of IPL's highest all-time wicket-takers. The economy drift is real, but so is the wicket-taking rate.