IPL Auction 2017: Afghanistan star Rashid Khan could be the answer to Sunrisers Hyderabad's spin bowling woes

What’s the story?

Over the last few years, the Afghanistan cricket team has taken massive strides at the International level. They are capable of surprising any top side in the T20 format and it is evident from the fact that they were the only team to beat the eventual champions, West Indies in the 2016 World T20.

Few of their players are regulars in the Bangladesh Premier League, Pakistan Super League etc. Now, the Afghans have set their sights on IPL as it has been revealed that there will be five players from Afghanistan who will take part in the 2017 IPL auction.

It won’t be a surprise if an Afghan International is picked by a team in the IPL auction. One of the favourites to be snapped up by the teams at the auction is Rashid Khan. All the franchisees will be aware of the Rashid’s potential and the defending champions, Sunrisers Hyderabad will look to buy him in the upcoming auction.

In case you didn’t know...

Rashid Khan is a 19-year-old cricketer, who has the potential to end up as the country's greatest cricketer ever by the time he calls it a day. He is a leg-spinner, who has taken 31 T20I wickets in 21 matches at an extraordinary average of 16 and an economy of just over 6. He is also someone who is equally good with the bat as he is known to play some cameos down the order for his team.

It is too early to come to a conclusion about his batting in T20Is as he has played just 6 innings in which he averages 31.50 with a strike-rate of 150. But, his numbers in the ODI format will give an idea of how dangerous he is with the bat. He has 261 ODI runs in 14 innings at an average of 23 with a strike-rate just over 95, numbers that are good for someone who bats at no. 8.

He was also the second highest wicket taker in the 2016 World T20. Rashid is currently ranked fifth in the ICC T20I rankings and is above the likes of Sunil Narine, R Ashwin, Mustafizur Rahman etc.

The heart of the matter

One of the main reasons why Sunrisers Hyderabad won the 2016 IPL is their fast bowling department as their pacers came to the party in each and every game last season. Ever since releasing Amit Mishra, the Hyderabad franchise had their issues when it came to their spin bowling department as their spinners, Karn Sharma and Bipul Sharma were often exposed in the last couple of seasons.

Going into the IPL auctions, they have released Karn Sharma and it is certain that they will look to strengthen their spin department.

Players retained: Shikhar Dhawan, Naman Ojha, Deepak Hooda, Vijay Shankar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Barinder Sran, Karn Sharma, Bipul Sharma, Ricky Bhui, Yuvraj Singh, Siddarth Kaul, A Mithun, David Warner, Moises Henriques, Ben Cutting, Mustafizur Rahman, Kane Williamson.

Players released: Karn Sharma, Ashish Reddy, Eoin Morgan, Trent Boult, T Suman, Aditya Tare.

It won’t be a surprise if Tom Moody and co. opt for an overseas spinner and the likes of Imran Tahir, Rashid Khan, Brad Hogg etc. tick all the boxes that are needed to be a successful tweaker in this format. Their first-choice target will be Imran Tahir and if they fail to acquire him, they might turn their attention towards Rashid Khan.

Though Rashid is not as experienced as Tahir when it comes to playing at the top level, the Afghan International will give the defending champions more edge going into the tournament. He won’t cost as much as Tahir, will give four economical overs, can pick up a wicket regularly and more importantly, he can score some crucial runs down the order.

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Sportskeeda’s Take

The IPL is a big platform and it presents a brilliant opportunity to players to come out and express themselves. If Rashid is picked by any IPL team, it will be a big boost for both the player and his country.

Buying him will be a big bonus for Sunrisers as it will aid the David Warner-led side to fix their only weakness going into the tournament and help them defend the IPL crown.