Melbourne Renegades Sign Up Mohammad Nabi & Kieron Pollard After Sunil Narine Pulls Out Of BBL| 07
After Indian Premier League, two Afghanistan players will now ply their trade in Big Bash League too as Mohammad Nabi will join his compatriot Rashid Khan in Australia for the upcoming season. The allrounder’s services have been secured by Melbourne Renegades after West Indies star Sunil Narine pulled out of the tournament due to personal reasons.
Before Nabi, spin sensation Rashid Khan was signed up by Adelaide Strikers. Earlier this year, the duo had created history after bagging lucrative Indian Premier League deals. Both were signed up by the then defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad. They also received contracts from Caribbean Premier League and recently played for Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League.
Meanwhile, West Indies star Kieron Pollard will replace Nabi for the later stages of the tournament. While Nabi will be available for the first seven games of the season, Pollard will be part of the squad for last three games. Pollard is currently playing in the Bangladesh Premier League.
“Everyone speaks very highly of his game,” Finch said of Nabi. “(He) can smack them with the bat, so good all-round package.”
Andrew McDonald, Renegades’ head coach, welcomed the signings and wished Narine all the best. Narine is the leading wicket-taker for the Renegades in the tournament.
“We wish Sunil all the best,” he told melbournerenegades.com.au. “At short notice, we are pleased that we’ve been able to secure players of Mohammad and Kieron’s quality who will be important contributors this season for us.”
One of the mainstays of Afghanistan team, Nabi has ample experience of playing franchise cricket, having plied his trade for Chittagong Vikings, Quetta Gladiators, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Comilla Victorians. So far, he has played 151 T20s, scoring over 2,000 runs in addition to picking up 172 wickets. He has represented Afghanistan in 58 T20Is and has scored 876 runs in addition to taking 59 wickets.
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