BBL 10: Mujeeb Ur Rahman rejoins Brisbane Heat, de Villiers opts out
Brisbane Heat have resigned Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rehman for the upcoming edition of Big Bash League. Mujeeb joins England’s Tom Banton as the second international recruit for Heat. However, their third international signing AB de Villiers has opted out due to personal reasons, Cricket Australia confirmed.
De Villiers made his much-awaited BBL debut with Heat in the 2019-20 season and had a decent run. But the South African superstar is expecting a third child with wife Danielle, which is one of the reasons he has opted out this time around. His absence leaves the Heat with an opportunity to sign a third international cricketer as per the competition’s new rules.
De Villiers is currently part of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2020 in the UAE. His explosive knocks have helped RCB maintain their position in the top half of the table, with their playoff berth almost confirmed.
❤️ @ABdeVilliers17 pic.twitter.com/RnOU6vWAVM
— Brisbane Heat (@HeatBBL) October 27, 2020
“Pleased to have him back”
The world’s No.2 ranked T20I bowler, Mujeeb has enjoyed his last two seasons with Heat, picking 15 wickets in 18 matches. The 19-year-old was also part of Jamaica Tallawahs in this year’s Caribbean Premier League. His performance for the Tallawahs was even better – 16 wickets at an average of 13.56 and an economy of 5.29. Mujeeb is currently in action for the Kings XI Punjab and is turning out to be a potent T20 weapon.
“We’re very pleased to have him back with us and with the BBL schedule potentially looking quite different to the usual format, his versatility and ability to create chances in a range of conditions will be very important for us,” said Heat coach Darren Lehmann.
“We’re pretty pleased to put him alongside ‘Swepo’ and (left-arm orthodox) Matt Kuhnemann as our frontline spinners because your slow bowlers are so important as to how you set up your fielding innings,” he added.
