High praise for Afghan teen

NEW Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has backed Afghan teenager Rashid Khan to transfer his explosive T20 form to test cricket, labelling the 19-year-old leg spinner the full package.

Khan excelled with ball and bat as the Williamson-led Sunrisers Hyderabad finished runners-up in the Indian Premier League, losing to the Chennai Super Kings in Sunday’s final.

His attention now turns to Afghanistan’s historic debut test against India in Bangalore next month and Williamson believes Khan has what it takes to succeed in the five-day game.

“He’s a world-class player. We’ve seen that in this format,” Williamson said after Hyderabad’s eight-wicket loss to Chennai at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

“It’s great that he’s going to be playing some test cricket – he is right up there with the top spinners in the game.”

Khan has become one of cricket’s hottest properties over the past year and is ranked the world’s top bowler in T20 internationals.

In March, the teen sensation became the fastest bowler to reach 100 one-day international wickets.

Hyderabad paid $1.32-million (R16.4-million) for him at the IPL 11 auction in January. He justified the hefty price tag by going on to grab 21 wickets in 17 matches.

The teenager also showed that he can bat and field. His 10-ball 34 and three crucial wickets fired Sunrisers to a semifinal 14-run win over the Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday.

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar wrote on Twitter afterwards: “I wouldn’t hesitate in saying he is the best spinner in the world in this format [and] he’s got some batting skills as well.”

Khan also took two catches on the boundary off consecutive balls in the final over as he grabbed the man-of-thematch award.

War-torn Afghanistan will make history on June 14 when they walk out for their first-ever test match. – AFP