T20 Blast | Shadab Khan joins Sussex for T20 Blast 2023

01/18/2023

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Sussex have acquired Pakistan’s star all-rounder and limited-overs vice-captain Shadab Khan for the coming T20 Blast. The 24-year-old is expected to stay at Hove to keep himself available for the entire Blast campaign, which will get underway on May 20 when Derbyshire take on Lancashire.

Shadab Khan, one of Pakistan’s brightest stars in recent years, will play for Sussex in the upcoming edition of the T20 Blast competition in England. The 24-year-old, since making his T20I debut for Pakistan against the West Indies in 2017, has already played 84 matches in this format, maintaining a strike rate of 143.8 for his tally of 476 runs, and snaring 98 wickets at an economy rate of 7.03 with his leg spin.

“Shadab will provide amazing experience in our middle order, he is someone who has played all around the world and has experienced many situations, which can only benefit our team,” Sussex Bowling Coach James Kirtley said in a statement. “He really does provide flexibility to our side as he can score runs and take wickets in crucial moments, but more than anything else he is an experienced head that Ravi can go to as captain to look for support when making crucial in-game decisions.”

Last season in the Blast, Shadab represented Yorkshire and is currently in Australia to play for Hobart Hurricanes in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL). In total, he has played 225 domestic T20 matches, tallying 2088 runs, with a strike rate of 136.91, and has 258 wickets under his name, averaging 22.55 at an economy rate of 7.23.

“I love playing in England. I know Mushtaq Ahmed is a legend at Sussex and it is an honour to follow in his footsteps,” Shadab wrote on Twitter. “Sussex has a proud history and I hope that my skillset will help the team achieve great things in the blast this year.”