Rashid Khan Reflects on Heated Exchange with Gleeson During SA20 Final
In the final of SA20 2025, MI Cape Town captain Rashid Khan got a controversial see-off by Sunrisers Eastern Cape's English pacer Richard Gleeson. After the clash between the two, the on-field umpire had to intervene. Rashid walked out of the field after scoring zero runs off two balls. However, in the end, Rashid had the last laugh as the last player to be dismissed in the final was Gleeson and MI Cape Town's team became the champions.
After winning this title, when Rashid was asked by South African veteran cricketer AB de Villiers what he was told on the field when he was dismissed. To which Rashid responded by saying that this is something that cannot be explained here. However, it was very important for Rashid to keep the energy alive in the final.
"It's not a very good thing that can be pointed out here. It also boosted my enthusiasm. It was needed. That conversation on the field took away my energy and I was happy to win the match," Rashid said.
The incident happened in the 18th over during MI Cape Town's innings when Rashid won the toss and elected to bat first. When the Afghan player came to bat, He was outsmarted by the short ball. The ball hit the top edge after which Abell took an easy catch. When Rashid was going out of the field, Gleeson mocked him.
Rashid did not get anything special with the bat but he was very aggressive with the ball. He dismissed opener Tony de Zorzi for 26 Runs. He conceded only 19 runs in his four overs.
After the win in the final, Rashid praised the bowling of Kagiso Rabada, Corbin Bosch, Trent Boult and George Linde and said,
"It's been a great night tonight. The last few years have been difficult for us. The highest number of points were scored in the last three seasons. I'm happy for this team. Everyone made a great effort. We haven't played a selfish innings this entire season. Everyone thought about what the team needed. Even today, everyone played their natural game. We had KG, Bosch, Bolt and George. So happy to be part of this bowling lineup. "