Afghan spinner Zahir signs with Lancs

LONDON: Zahir Khan, the Afghanistan chinaman bowler, has signed a contract with Lancashire for the remainder of the county season.

The 19-year-old, who made his first class debut for Afghanistan against PNG in the Intercontinental Cup in 2015, has snared 34 scalps at just 13.14 in the longest format of the game. He has also bagged 19 and 15 wickets in List A and T20 matches respectively. He was also a part of the Afghanistan Test squad for the one-off Test against India. Rajasthan Royals, the IPL franchise, also picked him for the 2018 season but he missed the entire tournament due to an injury. As of now, three other cricketers from Afghanistan - Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb ur Rahman - are playing domestic cricket in England.

“I’m really excited to be signing for Lancashire for the rest of the campaign,” he said. “It’s always been an ambition of mine to play county cricket in England and test myself against some of the world’s best players. I can’t wait to get started now.”

“I have heard a lot of good things about Lancashire and Old Trafford from Jos Buttler when I played with him at the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and I hope to make a significant contribution during my stay here.”