Hampshire Sign Mujeeb & Munro For 2018 Blast

Cricket365
May 17, 2018

Hampshire Cricket have announced the signings of exciting Afghanistan spinner, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and destructive New Zealand batsman, Colin Munro, for this year’s Vitality Blast competition.

The international duo will fill the two allocated overseas slots for 2018, with Mujeeb available for the duration of the tournament and Munro set to feature until his Caribbean Premier League commitments in August.

Mystery spinner Mujeeb has burst onto the scene in the last 12 months with his ability to bowl ripping off-breaks, leg-breaks and googlies propelling him onto the international stage.

The 17-year-old first impressed as part of an Afghanistan U19 side that claimed a historic victory in the Under-19 Asia Cup in 2017, and his performances as leading wicket-taker there earned him a full international debut at the age of just 16.

The right-armer also proved to be a key contributor to his side’s success in the 2019 Cricket World Cup Qualifying tournament earlier this year, helping secure their place at next year’s full tournament hosted in England and Wales.

Those achievements and his ability to bowl match-winning spells saw him selected by Kings XI Punjab for more than 600,000 USD in this year’s Indian Premier League shortly after, becoming the youngest player ever to play in the tournament. The youngster has dazzled for Ravi Ashwin’s side so far in the competition too, claiming 14 wickets in the tournament so far.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman said: “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. I hope I can help Hampshire be successful during my time with the team this year.”

The big-hitting Munro is one of the game’s most destructive batsmen, boasting an average of 33.51 and a strike-rate of 163.59 in 45 T20Is for New Zealand, whilst the left-hander currently sits second in the ICC’s World T20I batting rankings.

The 31-year-old is the only player to score three T20I centuries in the history of the game and has been involved in the best T20 competitions across the world, including the Big Bash and Indian Premier League, where he’s currently featuring for Delhi Daredevils.

Colin Munro said: “I am really looking forward to joining up with Hampshire for this summer’s Vitality Blast. Hopefully I can help the team get off to a flying start in the competition and contribute to securing a place in the knockout stages again this year. I have head very positive things about the set-up at the Ageas Bowl and with a strong squad I think we have a real chance of going deep into the competition.”

Hampshire Director of Cricket, Giles White said: “We’re pleased to add two high-quality international cricketers in Colin and Mujeeb to our squad for this year’s T20 competition. They’re both very talented and exciting players and hopefully they can contribute to another successful campaign for us this summer.”

Hampshire begin their quest to reach an eighth T20 Finals Day in nine years in less than two months’ time.