Prince of spin
\n DUBAI
\nRashid Khan remains Afghanistan\u2019s original spin king, but Mujeeb ur Rahman has emerged from his shadow as a rising star to make an instant impact at the Twenty20 World Cup.
\nThe 20-year-old bamboozled the opposition batsmen with his mystery spin on Monday to return T20 best figures of 5-20 in Afghanistan\u2019s 130-run rout of Scotland in Sharjah. Mujeeb bowls off-spin, leg-spin, and the googly with equal guile and has bagged 30 wickets in 20 matches in the shortest format since his debut as a 16-year-old in February 2018.
\n\u201cCongratulations to our nation and it\u2019s my first player of the match in a World Cup,\u201d Mujeeb, who played his first-ever match in the T20 World Cup, said to his countrymen who have been cheering their team under the new Taliban regime.
\n\u201cThe people supporting us here gave me a lot of positive energy. Fans have been supporting us and that\u2019s one reason we\u2019ve played well.\u201d
\nAfghanistan cricket has overcome tough odds including the possibility of being banned from the tournament if the women\u2019s game was discontinued by the Taliban.
\nThe players though have set aside the turmoil to focus on the T20 World Cup with skipper Mohammad Nabi saying we are well \u201cprepared\u201d.
\nMujeeb, who hails from a humble family in the Khost city of the war-torn region, rattled Scotland\u2019s top and middle order, taking three wickets in his first over including two in successive deliveries.
\n\u2018Magician\u2019
\nBy the time senior spinner Rashid came into the attack in the seventh over of the Scotland chase, Mujeeb\u2019s heroics \u2014 4-14 in three overs \u2014 had already reduced the Scots to 37-5.
\nHe bowled three googlies \u2014 a leg spinner that pitches and spins in, to a right-hand batsman \u2014 to send Scotland skipper Kyle Coetzer, Calum MacLeod, and Richie Berrington trudging back to the pavilion.
\nRashid took four wickets as the spin duo got nine between them and Nabi said, \u201cThe world knows we have some good spinners in the form of Rashid and Mujeeb.\u201d
\nFormer Afghanistan coach Andy Moles had termed Mujeeb a \u201ccomplete package\u201d and the youngster justified the compliment with sterling performances at the Under-19 stage.
\nMujeeb claimed a five-wicket haul in Afghanistan\u2019s historic triumph at the Under-19 Asia Cup where they beat Pakistan in the final.
\nHe finished the tournament with 20 wickets in five matches.
\nMujeeb got his big break in the lucrative Indian Premier League when Kings XI Punjab \u2014 now Punjab Kings \u2014 bought him for $630,000 in the 2018 edition.
\nHe played in Afghanistan\u2019s first-ever Test match, against India, in June 2018. This match was also his first-class debut.
\nThe same year Hampshire signed Mujeeb for the T20 Blast alongside Colin Munro of New Zealand.
\n\u201cMujeeb, he is a magician. He has got all the tricks in the trade. Very very remarkable young lad. He has every ball you can come across,\u201d said a Hampshire teammate.
\nMujeeb recently played in the Hundred for Northern Superchargers.
\nMujeeb once said that India skipper Virat Kohli \u201cwas his biggest wicket\u201d, but with his career just beginning, Afghanistan will be expecting many more memorable scalps from the prince of spin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Prince of spin DUBAI Rashid Khan remains Afghanistan\u2019s original spin king, but Mujeeb ur Rahman has emerged from his shadow as a rising star to make an instant impact at the Twenty20 World Cup. The 20-year-old bamboozled the opposition batsmen with his mystery spin on Monday to return T20 best figures of 5-20 in Afghanistan\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n