Afghanistan allrounder Mohammad Nabi could hardly contain his emotions upon becoming the first player from his country to secure an IPL deal, going for his base price of INR 30 lakhs to Sunrisers Hyderabad. Nabi previously played in the Bangladesh Premier League and Pakistan Super League, but said that getting a chance to go to the IPL would be entirely different, reports Cricinfo.com.
Afghanistan Cricket Board chief executive Shafiq Stanikzai has said the successful bids gained by allrounder Mohammad Nabi and leg spinner Rashid Khan at the IPL auction on Monday should be a banner moment that all of Associate cricket can celebrate. Stanikzai was optimistic that the successful bids for the duo, apart from UAE batsman Chirag Suri going to Gujarat Lions, may open up more opportunities in the near future for the top six of Associate cricket such as Hong Kong, Papua New Guinea and Scotland.
“Especially the top six Associate nations, every team has the individual brilliance and they deserve to be at the elite level of cricket, especially at the events like IPL, BPL, PSL, Big Bash or County Cricket,” Stanikzai said. “I would say Nabi and Rashid can represent the Associate world in the IPL, and if they do well, it proves our mark that we have some individual brilliance in these top six Associate teams who are playing at the World Cricket League Championship as well as Ireland and Afghanistan at a high performance level.”
“This is the happiest day in my life,” Nabi told ESPNcricinfo from Zimbabwe, where Afghanistan are currently playing a five-match ODI series. “I'm very happy [Sunrisers Hyderabad] picked me. A little bit of happiness tears came into my eyes as well when I was selected. It was my dream to play in the IPL and for my dream to come true, that's why I was so happy at that moment.”
Nabi woke up at 5.30am in Harare for his prayers right around the time the auction began, and followed the action on a web stream alone in his hotel room. He said he “couldn't control my feelings” when his name first came up on the screen, followed by a bid from Sunrisers management.