IPL 2017: Rashid Khan wants the purple cap till the end of IPL

Sunrisers Hyderabad leg-spinner Rashid Khan, a revelation of sorts, bagged the purple cap for taking most number of wickets so far in this season of Indian Premier League (IPL). The leggie on Sunday said that he will try to maintain his spot till the end of the cash-rich tournament after putting in an impressive performance in the opening two games. The Afghan teenager returned with figures of 3/19 against Gujarat Lions after nagging a couple in the first match. In two matches, he has taken five wickets to becoming the leading wicket-taker.

The young man made headlines after cracking the jackpot in the auctions and on the opening night of IPL 10, he became the first Afghanistan player to play in the league. If his debut was  impressive with a couple of wickets, he went a step further against the Gujarat Lions line up and scalped 3 big wickets. The only boundary he conceded that evening was from an outside edge in the last over of his spell. He was magnificent that night, and had everyone in awe.

“It’s a wonderful moment for me to take this purple cap. Hopefully I’ll try to keep this with me right till the end,” Rashid was quoted as saying by News 18.

On his bowling action, he said, “The way I’m bowling, it’s quite difficult for the batsmen to pick it. This is a tough track to bat on if you bowl wicket-to-wicket. I’m enjoying the experience here. I always try to bowl dots and build pressure on the batsmen.

Rashid was handpicked by the defending champions for Rs 4 crore and so far it seems that he is turning out to be the surprise pick of the season.

Apart from the teen, Indian quick Bhuvneshwar Kumar also took two wickets while Ashish Nehra also contributed with one wicket to restrict Gujarat to 135/7. And with Rashid in the side, it will be difficult for any team to score big against SRH given his exceptional variations up his sleeve.