MOHALI: Sunrisers Hyderabad coach Tom Moody on Thursday heaped praise on Afghan cricketer Rashid Khan and said the legbreak bowler has been a “terrific find” for the defending champions in the ongoing IPL. Moody said the 18-year-old’s exploits in the ongoing IPL is also a great news for the game in the war-ravaged Afghanistan.
“He is a terrific find for us and he is great for the tournament for a number of reasons. It’s nice to have a young leg-spinner doing what he is doing,” Moody said ahead of his team’s IPL match against Kings XI Punjab here tomorrow.
“Rashid’s success is also great for Afghanistan and for cricket as a whole,” the Australian said. Moody backed Rashid to continue the good work in the remainder of the tournament. “He took 1-17 in the last game (against Rising Pune Supergiant). For any spinner to take 1-17 in a high scoring game, I don’t think the opposition has worked him out. I still think he is a major threat and he will continue to do well,” Moody said about Rashid, who hails from Nangrhar province in Afghanistan. Talking about Sunrisers team in the ongoing IPL, Moody said: “I think this season we’ve probably got a well balanced squad. So I am comfortable as a coach to have a number of different combinations. “I think we need to have an open mind and be flexible while selecting the combinations.” Moody said they cannot afford to take Kings XI lightly even though the hosts did not have good run so far in the tournament. “Kings XI have changed their eleven more than a few times. So, its a fresh start for us, its not going to be the same eleven so that is also going to have an influence on our selection. At this point of the tournament, you would be foolish to take any team lightly,” Moody said. “Kings XI are at a point where they are desperate to secure a couple of wins and we are equally as desperate to secure wins because we want to hold our position on the top portion of the points table.” Moody was pleased with Yuvraj Singh performances so far but refused to divulge whether the local lad will be available for selection tomorrow. “Look I have been really pleased with Yuvraj. He has certainly been striking the ball well,” he said. “Unfortunately, he has been suffering from a flu. Hence, he missed a couple of games. Apart from that he looks in good shape, hitting the ball as well he has done for sometime.–PTI
