London, Nov 30 (IANS) Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has been acquired by Sussex for the third year running for the T20 Blast. Rashid will join Sussex Sharks for the entire group stage of the competition, subject to international clearance.
“I am really happy to be returning to Hove for next year’s Blast. Sussex is like a second home to me and I can’t wait to get back and see my teammates, the staff and all our fantastic supporters,” Rashid said in an official statement.
He will join Australia’s Travis Head as the second overseas player for Sussex. In his two previous spells with Sussex Sharks, Rashid has taken 24 wickets in 20 matches with an economy rate of 6.97.
“It’s absolutely brilliant to have Rash back for a third stint. He’s a box office player that our supporters love and to have the captain of an international team as one of our overseas players is a great honour,” Sussex Sharks head coach Jason Gillespie said.
“Everyone knows about his fantastic skills on the field, but he brings so much more to our club behind the scenes. He’s a wonderful ambassador for Sussex, for Afghanistan and for the game in general.”
Despite being only 21 years old and making his debut in the format in 2015, Rashid is already the 10th highest wicket-taker in T20 history with 272 wickets in 193 matches.
No one has taken more T20 wickets since the start of 2017 than Rashid’s 234 while the 96 wickets he took in 2018 is a record for a single calendar year.
In international T20 cricket, the Afghanistan captain has the format’s fourth equal lowest economy rate and is sixth on the all-time wicket-takers list with 84 dismissals in just 45 matches.
–IANS
aak/rt