Despite an underwhelming 2019 Indian Premier League (IPL) campaign, Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb ur Rahman is hoping to take the lessons from his stint into the upcoming 2019 ICC World Cup in England.
The young mystery spinner had an excellent debut IPL campaign with Kings XI Punjab in 2018 where he picked up 14 wickets in 11 outings. However, an injury saw Mujeeb’s 2019 campaign restricted to just five matches in which he managed to pick up just three wickets.
Having played under the captaincy of Ravichandran Ashwin at KXIP, Mujeeb now wants to take the knowledge gained from the India Test stalwart into the World Cup campaign.
“Ashwin is a great bowler,” the youngster said on the sidelines of Afghanistan’s World Cup jersey unveiling on Tuesday.
“His carom ball is tough to pick. In the last two years, I have learnt a lot from him. This year, we had many discussions. I am going to apply some of the learnings in the World Cup,” he added.
Mujeeb had an excellent IPL debut in 2018. Image – IPL/Twitter.
Apart from his lack of wickets and appearances, Mujeeb’s 2019 IPL campaign was also an expensive one with the spinner going at a rate of more than 10 runs an over. Despite the unflattering numbers, Mujeeb remains unperturbed about his bowling and is confident of doing well on the pitches in England.
“Any bowler can be exposed after a period of time in world cricket but what is important is that I keep bowling right line and length,” he said.
“I don’t think so I will have any issues if I am bowling well. IPL is a great platform for me. I have bowled at some of the batsmen who are going to feature in the World Cup.
“I was totally focused in the last two months. And I have bowled in England. I know how to bowl on those pitches.”
Led by Gulbadin Naib, Afghanistan will open their 2019 World Cup campaign on June 1 when they take on five-time champions Australia at Bristol.
