Rashid will be our ace, Moody says
Hyderabad coach puts his money on the Afghan leg-spinner
Afghanistan’s unique leg-spinner Rashid Khan will have a major impact on this year’s Indian Premier League for the Hyderabad franchise, coach Tom Moody has predicted.
Rashid has made rapid strides since making his international debut in October 2015 as a 17-year-old, in February becoming the youngest to top the International Cricket Council’s rankings for bowlers in the Twenty20 and 50-over format.
Sunrisers Hyderabad splurged 40 million rupees (Dh2.24 million) at last year’s auction to land the unheralded leg-spinner from Afghanistan, where cricket is highly popular but sporting facilities are pitifully inadequate after decades of war.
He saw an intense bidding war in this year’s auction before Hyderabad retained him with their right-to-match option for a whopping 90 million rupees, more than double what they paid for his services a year earlier. “Rashid is a pretty unique cricketer and he’s had a lot of success with us last year,” Moody, 52, said.
“He’s gone from strength to strength in the various tournaments that he has played around the world and also when he’s representing his country.”
Afghan ascent
It was only in 2013 that Afghanistan, mostly made up of players who picked up the game in refugee camps in neighbouring Pakistan, became an Associate Member.
They are currently a Full Member, scheduled to play their maiden Test match against India in June, and also won the qualifying tournament for the 50-over World Cup in England and Wales next year.
Rashid has played a major role in Afghanistan’s ascent, and last month became the fastest to take 100 wickets in ODIs, bettering the mark of Australia fast bowler Mitchell Starc by eight matches.
He is a proven strike bowler and has made a name for himself in Twenty20 leagues around the world, proving his worth in the IPL and Australia’s Big Bash League. “He’s an important piece to our puzzle given that there’s an element of mystery around him and he has that real potency as a wicket-taker. So he’s important,” Moody, who played eight Tests and 76 ODIs for Australia, said in a telephone interview.
Hyderabad, who lead the IPL standings with three wins from as many matches, lost captain David Warner after the Australia opening batsman was banned late last month due to the balltampering scandal in South Africa, but New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has eased into that role.
While hard-hitting Warner’s ban was a big loss, the franchise
He’s an important piece to our puzzle given that there’s an element of mystery around him and he has that real potency as a wicket-taker.” Tom Moody » Sunrisers Hyderabad coach
had moved on and are focused on providing Williamson the best support they can, Moody said.
“It’s a very easy transition to be honest,” said the Australian, who has also coached Sri Lanka’s national side.
“Kane is the captain of experience, given he has captained international teams. He’s got a real understanding of leadership and captaincy.
“And like any player, a captain must be true to themselves and true to their strength and Kane will be doing exactly that and we will encourage him to do it his way.”
The in-form Rajasthan Royals will be confident of a third consecutive victory when they take on Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League in Rajasthan’s Jaipur today.
Royals have turned it around with back-to-back wins after Sunrisers thrashed them in their opener. They pipped Delhi Daredevils by 19 runs in a rain hit encounter and then travelled away to post a convincing 19-run victory over star-studded Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The undisputed star of the game was Sanju Samon who hit a blistering 45-ball 92 and Royals would expect him to fire again.
They were able to iron out few of their flaws. Royals’ batting clicked with Samson leading the charge and skipper Ajinkya Rahane too making a useful contribution. Their bowling too could sustain the pressure of onslaught by big hitters like Virat Kohli and A B de Villiers.
Home turf
They are on their home turf where they have seldom lost matches but they would still be wary of KKR who outplayed Delhi Daredevils rather comfortably last night for their second win in four games.
With Chris Lynn and Sunil Narine at the top and big hitters like Dinesh Karthik, Robin Uthappa, Nitish Rana and Andre Russell in the middle, KKR have enough firepower and depth.
Their bowling too has the right balance with the deceptive Narine, the current purple cap holder in the tournament. Wily old horse Piyush Chawla and Kuldeep Yadav are capable of weaving a web around any batting side.
Pacer Shivam Mavi, who rose to stardom during the recent U-19 World Cup, and Russell provide the medium pace variety to KKR.
However, the tight schedule of the tournament has left KKR so drained that they preferred to rest yesterday instead of holding a practice session.
The pink city, after a two and half-hour rain interruption in the previous match, is under a dry and hot spell. The wicket here is a sporting one, but a little bit of dryness would help the KKR spin department. Rajasthan Royals will also be supporting the cause of the movement by planting one million saplings across the state of Rajasthan and contribute its bit to the environment, it was announced on Sunday.