Rashid tipped to do well vs India
MUMBAI : Sunrisers Hyderabad skipper Kane Williamson tipped Rashid Khan to come good in Afghanistan’s debut Test against India in June, complementing the young spinner as one of the best in the world.
“He’s a world-class player. We’ve seen that in this format but it’s great he’s going to be play some Test cricket and is a challenge but an enjoyable one because he’s up there with the top spinners in the game,” Williamson said after his side lost to Chennai Super Kings by eight wickets in the IPL final.
“It’s always a pleasure to face him at the nets and against him as well in the future. If the wicket’s responding, the full package (of) Rashid is great to have in the side.”
Williamson reiterated that Shane Watson, who slammed a 57-ball 117 to bring up his second century of this IPL, made all the difference.
“At the halfway stage on the surface, we thought we had a very competitive total. It wasn’t perhaps your usual surface at the Wankhede and it held a little bit and was responsive to the slower ball. So we thought that 180-mark was a really good target.
“From that point onwards, that innings of Watson got them to play and anyone who turns out with an innings of 100-plus in the final, it was obviously a significant effort and great contribution to their side and very difficult to stop, so a fantastic knock,” Williamson, who ended the tournament as the highest run-getter with 735 runs, said.
He also didn’t want to cite fatigue as a factor given his side had to fly to Kolkata to play Qualifier 2 against Kolkata Knight Riders and head back to Mumbai for the final.
AFGHAN PACER ZADRAN OUT OF TEST VS INDIA
NEWDELHI: Ahead of their inaugural Test against India from June 14-18 at Bangalore, Afghanistan were dealt a major blow after paceman Dalwat Zadran was ruled out with a knee injury.
Zadran was also ruled out of his side’s three T20s against Bangladesh, starting June 3 in Dehradun, an ICC release stated. According to the Afghan Cricket Board (ACB), the 30-year-old pacer hurt himself during training in India.