It's been a welcome sign that Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan and Mujeeb Zadran have proved there's T20 talent beyond the traditional bastions of cricket and their performances testify they are here to stay. A look at the numerous patterns from the first quarter of the league phase. Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan will have a major impact on this year’s Indian Premier League for the Hyderabad franchise, coach Tom Moody has predicted.
Afghanistan’s leg-spinner Rashid Khan has made rapid strides since making his international debut in October 2015 as a 17-year-old, in February becoming the youngest to top the International Cricket Council’s rankings for bowlers in the Twenty20 and 50-overs format. Rashid has played a major role in Afghanistan’s ascent, and last month become the fastest to take 100 wickets in ODIs, bettering the mark of Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc by eight matches.
Sunrisers Hyderabad, who lead the IPL standings with three wins from as many matches, lost captain David Warner after the Australia opening batsman was banned late last month due to the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa, but black caps skipper Kane Williamson has eased into that role. The 19-year-old, Rashid Khan plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing Indian Premier League and has so far picked up two wickets in three games in the cash-rich league with an impressive economy rate. He saw an intense bidding war in this year’s auction before Hyderabad retained him with their right-to-match option for a whopping, more than double what they paid for his services a year earlier.