T20 Blast: Rashid Khan extends his contract with Sussex

Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has extended his contract with Sussex Sharks in the ongoing T20 Blast in England. Earlier, he was only signed to play the first half of the tournament. Their upcoming game against Gloucestershire on Wednesday would’ve been his last for the team. But now he will be available for all the 14 group matches for Sussex which should give them a huge confidence.

Sussex are currently fourth in the points table in the South Group with 3 wins after six matches. Their two matches have been washed out and a win over Gloucestershire will propel them to the top position. Rashid has played a crucial role for them so far with 6 wickets in five matches. He is also one of the most economical bowlers for them conceding runs at 7.16 and a strike-rate of 18.

Coach delighted

Jason Gillespie, the head coach of Sussex, expressed his delight over Rashid Khan’s contract extension and stressed on continuity in such long tournaments. “I’m very big on continuity when it comes to tournaments and, as a general rule, I prefer not to have players dropping in for a few games,” he said according to the official website of Sussex Cricket.

The former Australian also praised the leggie and termed him as the number one T20 bowler in the world. “Having said that, Rashid is the number one T20 bowler in the world and so having him in the team for any number of games would have added value – as we have already seen – but to now have him available for the whole of the group stage is absolutely wonderful,” Gillespie added.

Meanwhile, Rashid also thanked Sussex for extending his contract and was confident of winning more matches for his team.

“I had always wanted to play more than the first seven games so when I heard I was now going to be free, I asked the club straightaway if they would like me to stay for the full 14 matches. Thankfully, they also wanted me to stay. I’m really enjoying my time at Sussex so far and I’m looking forward to the rest of the matches here. Let’s hope we can win many of them!” he said.

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