Afghanistan's Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi to play IPL's UAE leg, confirms SRH CEO

With the current state of affairs in Afghanistan, questions have been asked if star spinner Rashid Khan and all-rounder Mohammad Nabi will be available for the UAE leg of the Indian Premier League, starting on September 19. Meanwhile, Sunrisers Hyderabad has confirmed that the two Afghanistan players will be participating in the second phase of IPL 2021.

Speaking to ANI, SRH CEO K. Shanmugam said the two Afghanistan players will be a part of the IPL in the UAE. "We haven't spoken on what is happening at present, but they are available for the tournament," he said.

When asked about the departure of the team for UAE, he said: "We are leaving at the end of the month, August 31."

Flight operations from around the world are affected at Kabul's Hamid Karzai International (HKI) airport due to the ongoing turmoil in Afghanistan. Taliban terrorists are assuming control of the Afghan capital of Kabul and have taken control of the presidential palace after the country's president Ashraf Ghani left for Tajikistan.

Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2021

Prior to the indefinite suspension of IPL 2021 on May 4, SRH were languishing at rock bottom with just a solitary win from seven matches and two points to their tally. David Warner was sacked from captaincy owing to poor results in the 2021 edition of the tournament and New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was named his successor. 

The 'Orange Army' would be hoping for a revival in fortunes when the second phase of the marquee tournament gets underway in the UAE on September 19.  At the same time, the former champions would also be expecting the Afghan duo of Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi to come out all guns blazing in the remaining fixtures of the competition.

The second phase of IPL 2021 to be contested in the UAE

The IPL 2021 will resume on September 19 with the final set to be played on October 15. A total of 31 matches will be played in the given time frame. The second leg of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 edition will begin with a blockbuster clash between arch-rivals Mumbai Indians, who are the defending champions, and Chennai Super Kings. The final match of the league stage will be played between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Capitals on October 8. The knockout stage of the premier T20 competition will begin on October 10 with Qualifier 1 taking place in Dubai, the Eliminator and Qualifier 2 in Sharjah on October 11 and 13, respectively. 

(With ANI Inputs)