Yuzvendra Chahal vs Rashid Khan - comparing their stats after 127 IPL matches

Yuzvendra Chahal and Rashid Khan, two champion wrist-spinners, have taken a while to find their feet in the ongoing 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign. In their first five matches of the campaign, they had only picked a combined tally of five wickets, triggering fear of a potential decline after years of consistency.

Chahal, however, made a massive statement with his match-winning 4-28 against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Mullanpur on Tuesday, April 15. His spell helped PBKS defend a 112-run target, the lowest ever in IPL history.

Rashid Khan also looked in better rhythm in his recent appearance against the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), where he took the key wicket of Nicholas Pooran during GT's six-wicket loss at the Ekana Stadium.

PBKS' fate rests heavily on Chahal's output, and the case is the same for GT and Rashid Khan. They have been largely overshadowed by the likes of Glenn Maxwell and Sai Kishore in the formative stages of the season. But, being certified match-winners, it is only a matter of time before the leggies turn their campaign around.

On that note, let us compare the stats of Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal after 127 matches in the IPL.

#1 Wickets

Yuzvendra Chahal is marginally ahead in terms of wickets after 127 appearances in the IPL. The leg-spinner played his 127th match in the competition towards the end of his prolific Purple Cap-winning IPL 2022 season.

Rashid Khan was within touching distance of Yuzvendra Chahal's wicket-tally after 50th and 100th IPL appearance respectively. However, the gap between the two has widened to 10 amid the Afghanistan spinner's poor run of form. He picked up only 10 wickets in the 2024 season, while he is currently on only four wickets in the ongoing 2025 edition.

Player Name	Wickets after 127 matches
Yuzvendra Chahal	163
Rashid Khan	153

#2 Average and Economy

Rashid Khan and Yuzvendra Chahal operate in a different manner to yield impact for the team. The former relies on accuracy and unpredictability to box the batter in, and at his best, he is an excellent defensive bowler to have as batters usually look to play his overs out.

Chahal, on the other hand, is an old-school leg-spinner who relies on flight and turn to outfox the batters, while boasting a mean googly too. He is often among the wickets when the batters try to take him on, making him an attacking option guaranteed to deliver the wickets.

A large difference in numbers is expected when the profiles of the two bowlers are concerned, but there is not a massive difference. Rashid predictably has the better economy, while Chahal has the better average due to their respective traits, but the gap is hardly massive.

Player Name	Average	Economy
Yuzvendra Chahal	21.48	7.61
Rashid Khan	22.66	6.95

#3 Playoffs and Finals stats

Yuzvendra Chahal and Rashid Khan have played a similar number of matches in the knockout stages of the IPL. The pair have even crossed paths on multiple occasions in such high-pressure stages, most notably the 2020 IPL Eliminator and the 2022 IPL Final.

Despite picking the same number of wickets as their appearances, there is a massive difference in terms of their impact. While Chahal has had telling performances in IPL knockouts, he has been a huge hit-or-miss. There are no mediocre performances on his record, he has either been a match-winner or has had a downright bad game.

As a result, his average in the playoffs is worse than his usual numbers in the league stage, while the economy is almost the same.

Rashid Khan, on the other hand, is a bona fide match-winner in such circumstances. He has world-class numbers to his name, particularly his economy of 6.11, which plays a huge role in piling on more pressure on the opponent in an already high-stakes game. In fact, the leg-spinner has only recorded an economy of over 8 in three out of 12 knockout stage outings.

He was the player of the match for his 3-19 and an explosive cameo in the 2018 Playoffs clash against the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the Eden Gardens as well.

Player Name	Matches	Wickets	Economy	Average
Yuzvendra Chahal	11	11	7.70	30.80
Rashid Khan	12	12	6.11	22.90