IPL 2020: Harsha Bhogle lauds Rashid Khan while claiming T20s have democratized cricket

Indian cricket commentator and journalist Harsha Bhogle is widely considered as one of the best commentators of the game. Nicknamed as the “Voice of Cricket”, Harsha Bhogle recently took to Twitter and uploaded a few videos that highlighted his speech in a Hyderabad-based event back in December 2019. In his speech, Bhogle can be seen talking about the impact of T20 cricket and the emergence of various cricketing superstars because of the format.

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IPL 2020: Harsha Bhogle on the impact of T20 cricket

In the video, Harsha Bhogle explained how the shortest format of the game has “democratised” cricket. He cited the example of Afghan prodigy Rashid Khan who became a household name due to his exploits in T20 cricket. Rashid Khan made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut in IPL 2017 as a 19-year-old and immediately made an impact for his Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) side.

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In 2017, Rashid Khan picked up 17 wickets in just 14 matches and emerged as one of the bowlers of the tournament. In his three seasons with SRH so far, the leg-spinner has accounted for 55 wickets in 46 matches. He is also yet to miss a match for his side ever since he made his debut.

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IPL postponed due to coronavirus

During the recently concluded IPL 2020 trading window, Rashid Khan was retained by the SRH team 2020 for ₹9 crore. The upcoming IPL 2020 was originally scheduled to commence on March 29 with a match between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings. However, in wake of the ongoing worldwide crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) postponed IPL 2020 to a new launch date of April 15.

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