Former Indian cricketer Sanjay Manjrekar lauded young Gujarat Titans spinner Noor Ahmad for his standout performance in this edition of the Indian Premier League. The defending champion’s bowling duo Noor Ahmad and Rashid Khan has been a tough nut to crack for the opponent batters in IPL 2023.
The young Afghan Left-arm Noor Ahmad is bowling in tandem with fellow Afghan national Rashid Khan and has allowed GT Captain Hardik Pandya to control the games in the middle overs.
Cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar believes that Noor Ahmad can be a vital player for the defending champions against the Chennai Super Kings on a Chepauk wicket, as he can provide a big match-up against the hard-hitting Shivam Dube in the middle overs.
“Noor Ahmad is the guy more for somebody like a Shivam Dube because he is someone, who is turning his leg-spinners a bit,” Sanjay Manjrekar said quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
The left-arm wrist spinner has now accounted for 13 dismissals in ten games in IPL 2023 at an economy rate of 7.96. The 18-year-old was viewed as a backup for vice-captain Rashid Khan, but to everyone’s surprise, Gujarat Titans utilized both the spinner to their strength as the team went with an all-Indian pace attack in the last few games.
On the Other hand, Rashid Khan has been one of the best T20 players in the world and has once again proved his worth in IPL 2023 picking up up 24 wickets each in the 14 games being the joint-highest wicket-taker in IPL 2023 alongside his Mohammad Shami.
Noor Ahmad Bowled With A Bigger Heart Than Rashid Khan – Sanjay Manjrekar
Sanjay Manjrekar hailed the youngsters for bowling with a lot of heart against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in a tough Chinnaswamy wicket, as Noor Ahmad tossed more delivery against hard-hitting RCB batters than his bowling partner Rashid Khan and reckons that he would Noor against the Shivam Dube in tricky Chepauk wicket.
“When he played in the last game against RCB, he bowled with a bigger heart than Rashid Khan. Rashid was slightly on the shorter side, but Noor tosses the ball up, goes more for wickets, and gets a little more out of the surface. Rashid is a much better bowler, but I will go with Noor against Dube,” Sanjay Manjrekar added.
Gujarat Titans (GT) picked him up at the IPL 2022 Auction for his base price of ₹30 lakhs and was retained by the franchise ahead of the 2023 season and has done a remarkable job for his side with the ball in the IPL 2023 and will important role to play in slow wickets of Chennai in Qualifier 1.
The defending champions have won all their previous three games against the four-time champions, but the MS Dhoni-led side would come into the contest with a home advantage in their side on Tuesday