Afghan teen spinner signs for Hampshire

LONDON: Hampshire announced the signing on Thursday of Afghan teenager Mujeeb Ur Rahman and New Zealand’s Colin Munro for the Twenty20 Blast.

Mujeeb will be available for the whole of the county’s T20 campaign and white-ball specialist opener Munro can play until he moves to the Caribbean Premier League in August.Mujeeb has been a revelation since making his international debut at the age of just 16 in December, helping Afghanistan qualify for next year’s World Cup in England and becoming the Indian Premier League’s youngest-ever player this year.

The 17-year-old impressed as part of an Afghanistan side that claimed a historic victory in the Under-19 Asia Cup in 2017.Bowling a mixture of off-breaks, leg-spin and googlies, he has taken 35 wickets in 15 One-day Internationals and two wickets in two international T20s.

“It is a great honour for me to play domestic cricket in England and I am very much looking forward to this latest challenge in my career so far,” he said.“I hope I can help Hampshire be successful during my time with the team this year.”Big-hitting Munro, 31, averages more than 33 in 45 international T20s, with a strike rate of more than 163.