The Story
Guyana Amazon Warriors is a highly confident batch or rather say the most confident in the Caribbean Premier League 2017. The reason is plain and simple – the presence of star leg spinner Rashid Khan. The Afghan cricketer is by far the most talked about bowler in the world and has gained some sort of legendary status among his T20 peers due to his antics in the last couple of years.
Therefore, when the team first united for the first training session in Florida before to their season-opening match against St Kitts & Nevis Patriots, Rashid Khan, who was bought for USD 60,000, was the talking point.
“Reach out to him when in trouble”
It was post-practice gossips and interviews time when Tom Moody decided to catch up with Rashi Khan, bumping him from behind the cameras. The two exchanged pleasantries and began to chat when Amazon Warriors captain Martin Guptill appeared.
Moody, who had a first-hand view of Rashid during the IPL, was quick to endorse Rashid’s utility factor and jokingly offered a piece of friendly advice. “When the s*** hits the fan, just give this guy the ball and he’ll sort everything out.”
As Rashid chuckled, Guptill replied, “Mate, I can’t wait to give him the ball as early I can every game.”
Rashid is one of the CPL’s first two Afghanistan players along with Patriots all-rounder Mohammad Nabi and the expectations is high from him. He is the best bet his skipper and fans have in mind who could propel the team to the CPL final for the fourth time and actually win this time.
Huge boost to the team
“Everyone talks about how we’ve been in three finals and lost three finals but at the end of the day that’s cricket,” Guptill told ESPNcricinfo in Lauderhill. “You’re not gonna win every game you play. We played some pretty incredible cricket up to that and unfortunately, we played our worst game in the final.”
After impressing everyone with his googlies, Rashid began fresh spell with the national team by dominating the bowling charts during the tour of the West Indies, which saw him claim a record breaking 7 for 18 in the opening ODI win in St Lucia.
“The squad looks a little different to last year but we’ve got some pretty exciting young cricketers coming,” Guptill said. “Rashid Khan, you know what he did in the IPL this year and what he’s done for Afghanistan. It’s extremely exciting and I can’t wait to watch the likes of him get the ball in hand and see what he can do in a couple of days’ time.”