Afghan trio at center stage as Vitality Blast begins

KABUL (SW) – Afghanistan’s leading cricketers, spin sensation Rashid Khan and Mujib Zadran as well as all-rounder Mohammad Nabi are set to feature at the British T20 series, the Vitality Blast kicking-off on Wednesday.

The tournament gets under way with three matches. Notts Outlaws, the reigning champions, take on Birmingham Bears in the first match. The competition maintains the same format as last year with North and South Divisions, each county playing 14 matches followed by the quarter-finals and then finals day.

According to media reports, at least 320,000 tickets for the group stages have been sold, which is almost a 20 per cent increase on last year. There are a total of 38 confirmed overseas signings. Twenty of them are specialist bowlers, compared with 16 in 2017.

In the spotlight, in particular, are the Afghanistan spin trio of Khan, the world’s top-ranked T20 bowler, Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman, the 17-year-old who will play for Hampshire having taken 14 wickets for Kings XI Punjab in this year’s Indian Premier League.

Rashid and Nabi would feature in the maiden matches on Tuesday while Mujib would play his first match of the event on Friday.

ENDS