IPL 2018: Zahir Khan confident about Rajasthan Royals’ progress

The Rajasthan Royals (RR) beat the Mumbai Indians (MI) in their last round-robin match at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. Subsequently, they also cemented their berth in the playoffs of the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL). Rahul Tripathi’s masterful knock of 80 runs lifted the Royals to a competitive score of 164 in 20 overs.

AB de Villiers and Parthiv Patel threatened to take the match away from them. However, Shreyas Gopal’s stupendous four-wicket haul helped the hosts restrict Virat Kohli’s men for 134 and win the contest by 30 runs. Zahir Khan was scheduled to take part for the Royals but was ruled out without playing a match owing to a shoulder injury. The Afghan off-spinner is ecstatic by RR’s performance.

Zahir optimistic about Royals

The teenager also mentioned that the Royals are likely to qualify for the final. “I’m so thrilled to see Rajasthan enter the playoffs. The Ajinkya Rahane-Shane Warne combination can do wonders. I think Rajasthan Royals will be in the final. I congratulated the teammates for making it to the playoffs. As far as I’m concerned, I can try my luck next season,” Zahir was quoted as saying in the Hindustan Times.

Afghanistan was rewarded with a Test status last year and they will be playing their maiden Test against India form June 14 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. The chinaman bowler termed the match as a historic moment for the entire nation and sounded hopeful regarding their performance. He also vowed to recover from the injury and make a strong comeback.

“It would be a big historic moment for our country. And taking on a heavyweight team like India would make it more special. Spinners like Rashid Khan, Mujeeb-ur-Rahman and all-rounder Mohammed Nabi have shown their mettle in the IPL. Our batsmen would be better at taking on spinners in Bengaluru.

I hope I regain fitness by then and I’m eligible for selection. Otherwise, we are slated to play plenty of Tests in next four years,” the 19-year old, who has been recuperating in Chennai for a month, added.

Here is Rajasthan’s full squad

CricTracker is the home to all ‘cricketing news‘, trends and developments.