Mujeeb Ur Rahman’s show with the bat in BBL excites his IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab

A lot of exciting players from Afghanistan take part in the Indian Premier League (IPL) every year though most or all of them are bowlers or all-rounders. Their national team coach Phil Simmons too has expressed a desire to see a batsman rising through the ranks of Afghanistan cricket, which has otherwise made rapid strides, to make a name on the IPL platform.

Another sensational spinner from the country Mujeeb Ur Rahman might not have made much of a mark with his bat so far, but his performance with the willow for Brisbane Heat against Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash League in Australia will encourage Kings XI Punjab, his team in the IPL. Mujeeb came out to bat when Heat were reeling at 101 for 9 in 20 overs and then added 45 runs for the final wicket with wicketkeeper Jimmy Peirson to take the score to 146.

The 17-year-old fell with two deliveries to go in the innings for 27 off 22 balls but by then registered the record of becoming the highest scorer in a T20 game at No.11. The previous highest was 26 by Alankara Silva in a domestic match in Sri Lanka in the 2015-16 season.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman played well against Rashid

Mujeeb’s innings, however, could not ensure a victory as the Strikers won by 5 wickets and the bowler himself returning with zero wickets to his name. But his 22-ball knock which made him the second-highest scorer in the side, only after captain Chris Lynn (33) would make Ravichandran Ashwin, the captain of KXIP, glad ahead of the 12th season which starts in March.

He played some exquisite shots during his innings in which he hit three boundaries and some of them came against fellow Afghan spinner Rashid Khan, who was the man of the match with 3 wickets for 19.

The Kings later quoted a tweet from Brisbane Heat praising the cricketer’s batting performance to express their excitement on Mujeeb’s batting abilities saying “He can bat too!”.

He can bat too!😎

Debutant @Mujeeb_R88🦁 opens his account at @BBL with a quick fire 27!🔥#KXIP #LivePunjabiPlayPunjabi https://t.co/dEIQW1HqnP

— Kings XI Punjab (@lionsdenkxip) December 19, 2018

The Kings, co-owned by Bollywood actress Preity Zinta, bought a number of players including the joint most expensive pick Varun Chakravarthy in the auction for the 2019 edition of the IPL after releasing a whole lot. The team retained, however, Mujeeb who impressed with his 14-wicket haul in 11 matches in debut IPL last season and expects him to be a trump card next year.

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