“IPL contract is just around the corner for him”: Virender Sehwag praises Najibullah Zadran after his knock against New Zealand in T20 World Cup 2021

Virender Sehwag has praised Afghan batsman Najibullah Zadran after his knock against New Zealand in T20 World Cup 2021.

On 7th November 2021, every Indian was praying for Afghanistan in their T20 World Cup game against New Zealand. India needed Afghanistan to win, but this could not happen sadly. However, the performance of Najibullah Zadran gained some much-needed attention.

At one stage Afghanistan were 56-4, but then came Najibullah’s special knock. He scored 73 runs in just 48 balls at a strike-rate of 152.08. He smashed three sixes in his knock, whereas he scored six boundaries as well. The way he dominated the kiwi bowlers was a delight to watch. In the T20 World Cup, Zadran ended with 172 runs at an average of 34.40, which is the highest for any Afghan batsman.

Virender Sehwag predicts an IPL contract for Najibullah Zadran is on the cards

Najibullah is gaining a lot of appreciation from around the world, and Indian legend Virender Sehwag has also praised him. During Cricbuzz Live, Sehwag predicted that Zadran can get an IPL contract soon.

“I have played alongside him in T10 League so I was expecting such a knock from him. He is brilliant against both pace and spin and I feel an IPL contract is just around the corner for him,” Sehwag said.

Sehwag was impressed by Najibullah’s batting against the Kiwi spin duo of Santner and Sodhi.

“It looked like he (Najibullah Zadran) was batting on a completely different track compared to other Afghanistan batters. He cashed in brilliantly against the spin duo of Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner. Even in Neesham’s first over, he smashed a couple of boundaries,” he added.

The 28-years old lefty Afghan batsman has played T20 cricket around the globe. He has represented Karachi Kings in PSL, whereas he has played for St Lucia Zouks in CPL. Zadran has also been a part of the Global T20 Canada league.

In 140 T20 games, Zadran has scored 2468 runs at a strike-rate of 137.64, which includes 10 half-centuries.