Virender Sehwag, a former Indian opener, praised Afghanistan batsman Najibullah Zadran. After the southpaw hit a stunning 48-ball 73 against New Zealand in Abu Dhabi on Sunday afternoon.
Sehwag said he expected Zadran to deliver such a blow because he had seen him in close quarters at a T10 League a few years back.
Zadran is as good against both pace and spin, according to the former cricketer. An IPL deal for the young Afghan cricketer might be on the cards.
“I have played alongside him in T10 League so I was expecting such a knock from him. He is brilliant against both pace and spin and I feel an IPL contract is just around the corner for him,” said Sehwag. he said
During the Super-12 match, Zadran was Afghanistan’s lone bright spot. The southpaw pounced on the New Zealand bowlers with enthusiasm and was a big reason for his team’s 125 runs in 20 overs.
During his 48-ball 73, Zadran hit six fours and three sixes. The quality of his knock can be gauged by the fact. That none of his fellow batters could reach the 15-run threshold.
According to Sehwag, Najibullah appeared to be batting on a different strip than his teammates.
He also mentioned how the left-handed batter smashed the spin pair of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, something that other teams. Including India, had failed to do in previous games.
James Neesham
Trent Boult eventually dismissed Zadran with a superb catch from James Neesham in the penultimate over of the innings. Afghanistan missed out on critical runs in the final few deliveries thanks to his wicket.
“It looked like he (Najibullah Zadran) was batting on a completely different track compared to other Afghanistan batters. He cashed in brilliantly against the spin duo of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner. Even in Neesham’s first over, he smashed a couple of boundaries,” Sehwag said.
In the end, Zadran’s knock was insufficient, as New Zealand cruised over the run-chase of 126 to eliminate both Afghanistan and India from the competition.
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