IPL 2017: Sunrisers Hyderabad's Afghani spinner Rashid Khan keen to learn the tricks from Yuvraj Singh

What’s the story?

The upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) promises to be extra special for cricket fans around the world and especially those in Afghanistan. Not one but two of the Afghani cricketers, Rashid Khan and Mohammed Nabi, will be making their IPL debut in 2017.

Leg-spinner Rashid, in particular, is very excited about the prospect of sharing the dressing room with the likes of Yuvraj Singh and others. Speaking to the PTI, the youngster said, "IPL is the biggest league in the world, much bigger than playing associate cricket. I have started working harder ever since the IPL auction. It feels unreal that I will be sharing the dressing room with the players, I have grown up watching on television.”

"I have been a huge Yuvraj fan since childhood. I really like his aggressive style. Hopefully, I will get to spend time with him and get an insight into his cricketing knowledge. It will also be very special to be with support staff comprising former players like Tom Moody, VVS Laxman and Muttiah Muralitharan," he added.

In case you didn’t know…

Earlier this year, during the IPL auction, Rashid was snapped up by defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad for a sum of Rs 4 crore and in the process became the highest paid cricketer from an Associate nation in the history of the tournament.

Following the auction, the 18-year-old justified his selection with a series of brilliant performances in the Twenty20 series against Ireland in Greater Noida. Just a few days back, he picked up five wickets in only two overs conceding just three runs and changed the whole course of the match.

His performances did not go unnoticed as the very same day, he was picked up by Caribbean Premier League side Guyana Amazon Warriors for $60,000.

The heart of the matter

Rashid, who is known for his leg-spinners and googlies, has been enjoying life in the past couple of months. This has been a good period for both him and Afghan cricket. He picked up nine wickets in the T20 series against Ireland and would be hoping to carry his good form into the IPL.

The Sunrisers team has a number of star players but Yuvraj Singh, obviously, is the biggest name. The all-rounder starred in two successful World Cups for India and is a role model for many youngsters. Rashid has self-admittedly been a huge fan of Yuvraj and wants to learn the tricks of the trade from the star player.

However, the Afghan youngster’s favourite Indian cricketer is none other than Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

What’s next?

The IPL starts on April 5, 2017, with Sunrisers Hyderabad hosting the first match of this edition. They will take on Royal Challengers Bangalore and it will be interesting to see whether or not Rashid makes the team.

Author’s take

For a young player, being picked in an IPL side has its own perks, the foremost among them being sharing the dressing room with some of the game’s bests. Moreover, Afghanistan is still pretty new to the sport and Rashid is only 18 years of age.

We have seen many Indian youngsters benefitting from sharing the dressing room with star players. Now it’s Afghanistan’s turn.