Star Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan, who had a horror outing for Gujarat Titans during IPL 2025, has opened up on his struggles and mistakes after the back surgery. 

Notably, Rashid was far from his best during the IPL 2025 as he picked only 9 wickets in 15 matches with a poor average of 57.11 and economy rate of 9.34 as batter dominated him. He conceded 33 sixes, which is most by a bowler in a single IPL season. 

The 26-year-old Rashid admitted that he made a mistake by rushing back to cricketing action after his back surgery, which happened shortly after the 2023 ODI World Cup. Post-surgery, Rashid’s speed, which is key to his lethal bowling, depleted considerably, in addition to a loss of accuracy. 

After having a difficult IPL 2025 campaign, Rashid took a break off two months and has returned rejuvenated, producing a match-winning 3 for 11 in Oval Invincibles’ win over London Spirit in their first game of The Hundred 2025 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 told ESPNCricinfo in an interview.

“And when I came yesterday [on Tuesday], I felt so good, in a good rhythm, and the ball was coming nicely out of my hand, and [my] body was allowing me to go through. So these things matter a lot – sometimes you don’t think about that a lot; you just try your best to push yourself. But I feel to be out of the game for some time and focus on my fitness – and also [focus] mentally and physically – that really played a huge role,” he added. 

Barely a few months after the back surgery, Rashid started playing cricket despite warnings from medical experts. He started with the series against Ireland in March 2024, followed by the IPL and the T20 World Cup, where he led Afghanistan into the semi-finals. Thereafter, back and hamstring niggles forced him to miss the BBL and PSL. 

He returned in January 2025 for the second Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo and picked 11 wickets in 55 overs to be named Player of the Match. But the physical toll of that effort was apparent in his ordinary campaigns in 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),” Rashid said. 

“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. Yes, I think I have done a mistake where my body was not allowing me that and I’m facing a problem. The thing is the stiffness in your back doesn’t allow you to go with full rhythm,” he added. 

Following the conclusion of IPL 2025, Rashid withdrew from the MLC in the USA, where he was to turn out for MI New York, to focus on recovery, and doing strength training for his lower back in the gym. He also did spot bowling two or three times a week, with some batting practice. Off the field, the leg spinner, who got married in October last year, spent time relaxing with his family.

“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 said.