Afghanistan star Rashid Khan to play for Sussex

What’s the story?

Afghanistan star Rashid Khan's meteoric rise in T20 cricket is not stopping any soon as after having driven home his prominence in IPL and then in the BBL, he will now swoop across to England to play for Sussex.

"We are delighted that Rash has agreed to join us at Sussex. His form for Afghanistan and the T20 teams he has played for over the last couple of years has been phenomenal. I have worked closely with Rash at the Adelaide Strikers in the BBL and have been incredibly impressed with his attitude, work ethic and team-first mentality," Jason Gillespie, who is the head coach of the county said.

The Details

Gillespie, who was Rashid's coach in the BBL when he featured for the Adelaide Strikers also said that the Afghan player will play a cult figure, much like he was in Adelaide.

Apart from this, Sussex's director of cricket, Keith Greenfield, also expressed his happiness when he said that Rashid was the most sought-after spin talent in the world. Also, he was confident that this move will be a fantastic one, for both the club and the player.

In case you didn’t know…

Rashid Khan has had stellar run in T20s and for bowlers who have bowled more than 500 balls, his average of 13.82 is the lowest in the history of the format. Also, his economy rate of 5.86 runs per over is the second lowest of all time.

In the IPL auctions, he overshadowed all the other spinners when Kings XI Punjab offered Rs 9 crore to buy him, but Sunrisers Hyderabad used the Right-to-Match card to keep him in Hyderabad.

What’s next?

This move to Sussex will be closely followed by Tom Moody and then rest back here in Hyderabad ahead of the auctions and it will also be a great learning curve for the young star.

Author’s take

There is little doubt that with the evolvement of the various T20 leagues around the world, many players can showcase their talent and with the exponential rise of Rashid, it is apparent that franchise T20 cricket might just be the way to take the game forward to different other countries.