'It's great to have him in the side' - Rashid Khan praises Noor Ahmad for his brilliant spell during GT vs MI

Rashid Khan was full of praise for 18-year-old compatriot Noor Ahmad for his outstanding performance during the Gujarat Titans' (GT) IPL 2023 match against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Tuesday, April 25 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The reigning champions produced a clinical performance to outclass MI by 55 runs to claim their fifth victory of the IPL season. MI, on the other side, has now lost four of their seven games this season.

Noor claimed a three-wicket haul in the match against MI, dismissing Cameron Green, Suryakumar Yadav, and Tim David. The 18-year-old spinner now has six wickets from three matches in his debut IPL season. Notably, the teenager made his international debut in a T20I match against Zimbabwe in June 2022.

Afghanistan's star Rashid Khan was impressed with the teenager's performance, stating it is nice to have him on the team and share the bowling partnership with him. The 24-year-old all-rounder went on to say that Noor is working extremely hard and he simply wants to learn every time.

"It's great to have him in the side and share this bowling partnership with him. That little kid just wants to learn. He is working so hard," Rashid was quoted as saying by The Daily Star.

Noor got the opportunity now and he is delivering: Rashid

Rashid was particularly impressed by the left-arm spinner's efforts to improve since joining GT last year, despite the fact that he did not play last season. He claimed that Noor bowled a lot in the nets and was always asking questions. He stated that he is overjoyed since his efforts have finally been recognized, and it is a huge accomplishment for GT as well as Afghanistan.

"He bowled a lot in the nets and kept asking questions. When I was in the gym at night, he would come and say, 'let's bowl here in the gym.' Even at 1 a.m., 2 a.m., he was bowling with me in the gym. That's how much he wanted to get better and perform. He got the opportunity now and he is delivering. I am so happy for him. It's a great news for GT and also for Afghanistan," the 24-year-old added.