Rashid Khan grabbed attention with both his bowling and a light-hearted gesture after Gujarat Titans (GT) beat Rajasthan Royals (RR) by 77 runs in their IPL 2026 match on Saturday. After the win, Gujarat Titans shared a video on social media in which Rashid was seen emptying his pockets in celebration. The gesture appeared to be a response to Ravindra Jadeja's 'player in pocket' celebration from earlier in the match.
Jadeja's Celebration Sparks Response
Jadeja had performed the celebration after dismissing Jos Buttler during Gujarat's innings. The all-rounder bowled a delivery outside off stump that tempted Buttler into going for a big shot. The batter mistimed it and Donovan Ferreira completed the catch at long-off. As Buttler walked back, Jadeja put his hand into his pocket as part of his celebration. While Jadeja's gesture became one of the talking points during the first innings, Rashid responded later with both his bowling and his post-match celebration after Gujarat's comfortable win.
Rashid's Playful Retort
In the clip, Rashid emptied his pockets and pulled out a paper that read '+2.' Rashid, who was named Player of the Match, spoke about getting back into rhythm after facing fitness issues in recent seasons. 'Quite happy. It was something unusual for me (in the last two seasons). This season, more about enjoying myself and hitting the right areas consistently. Happy with that (so far),' Rashid said after the match.
Fitness Journey and Comeback
The Afghanistan spinner also said returning too early after surgery had affected him earlier. 'When I had that surgery, I took only two months to get back. That time, I made a huge mistake (of coming back soon). Last year, when IPL was over, I had 2-3 months off and tried to work on my fitness.' Rashid said he realised quickly that the pitch was helping him. 'The moment I bowled the first ball, I knew there was something for me. Pace was something I was trying to mix up.'
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