BBL 2021-22: Saqib Mahmood set to make his BBL debut with Sydney Thunder against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba

BBL 2021-22: English pacer Saqib Mahmood will make his BBL debut with Sydney Thunder against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba.

Sydney Thunder won their first BBL 11 game, but they have now lost two games on the trot. After beating Brisbane Heat, Melbourne Stars defeated them in both games. The batting of the side is certainly struggling, whereas the bowlers have been decent so far in the tournament.

Alex Ross and Sam Billings are batting well, but the form of Alex Hales is a bit of concern. Hales was the highest run-scorer of last season, and he is the biggest asset of Thunder’s batting. In the bowling department, Tanveer Sangha has scalped five wickets, whereas Nathan McAndrew has scalped four. In this game, the bowling of the side will be bolstered by the arrival of Saqib Mahmood.

BBL 2021-22: Saqib Mahmood set to make his BBL debut with Sydney Thunder

English pacer Saqib Mahmood will make his BBL debut in this game. The pacer is selected in the matchday squad for the match against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. Mahmood had a terrific PSL 2021 first leg, whereas he scalped eight wickets in four games of T20 Blast. Saqib Mahmood also bowled well in the last International series against Pakistan.

The pacer has expressed his excitement on making his BBL debut with the Sydney Thunder.

“It’s something which has been instilled among the England group, the England white-ball side, and [Thunder coach] Trevor Bayliss was at the forefront of that. To be able to work out here with him, I’m looking forward to that,” Mahmood said.

“When I put too much pressure on myself and try and stop runs – which, the reality is you’re going to go for runs in this game – that’s when things start to go wrong.”

“That’s something I’ve worked out for myself and I feel like it’s the right way to go in this game.”

Sydney Thunder squad to face Brisbane Heat: Chris Green (c), Sam Whiteman, Alex Hales, Matthew Gilkes, Sam Billings, Alex Ross, Ben Cutting, Daniel Sams, Tanveer Sangha, Nathan McAndrew, Saqib Mahmood, Jonathan Cook, Gurinder Sandhu, Chris Tremain, Jason Sangha.