Muttiah Muralitharan hails Rashid Khan after his dream IPL 10 debut

Spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan has hailed Afghanistan teenage sensation Rashid Khan for his on-field exploits in the 10th edition of the Indian Premier League so far. He has already bagged 5 wickets in the opening two matches and some of the star batsmen have found it really difficult to pick him especially his googlies. Calling him as a ‘special talent’, Murali feels Rashid has a big future ahead of him.

The teenager bagged a whopping 4.2 crores in the IPL auction and became the first member of the associate nation to appear in the playing XI of the cash-rich tournament. While the tweaker bagged a couple in the opening match against the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he finished with exceptional figures of 3/19 in his allotted 4 overs in the 2d encounter against Gujarat Lions.

Murali conceded that Rashid was picked on the back his impressive performances for Afghanistan. “I have seen (Rashid) only for a couple of days. We choose him because we saw him playing international cricket and bowling well against quality batsmen,” the legendary spinner was quoted as saying by News 18 on the eve of Hyderabad’s 3rd encounter against the Mumbai Indians.

“We thought he (Rashid) is something special and different than other leg spinners because he bowled little bit quicker than the others and he has variations. He has played his part in the first two matches and done well for us. It is a good sign and we thought he will do well and he is fulfilling our expectations,” the legendary spinner, the highest wicket taker in Test cricket quipped.

Murali also conceded that there isn’t enough talent in Sri Lanka and unless and until the new guys perform they won’t be picked by any IPL franchise. “Obviously, we don’t have talent back home (in Sri Lanka). So actually, we are lacking (good players). We had great teams, great players but they all retired. New guys are coming up but until they perform, franchises won’t pick them,” Murali said.