Teen sensation Mujeeb Zadran of Afghanistan, who was purchased for R4 crore by Kings XI Punjab at the Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction on Sunday
Mujeeb Zadran
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Teen sensation Mujeeb Zadran of Afghanistan, who was purchased for R4 crore by Kings XI Punjab at the Indian Premier League (IPL) player auction on Sunday, is a stark contrast to many of his compatriots. While most of Afghanistan's current crop of players have had to confront hardship, Mujeeb has had a fairly comfortable ride so far.
The mystery bowler, who lost his father at a young age and was raised by his mother's family, has had the luxury of training at an academy inside the family's home which is a sprawling mansion. "I grew up in a haveli (large bungalow). We have a huge playground, a series of guest houses and even a small zoo," he explains in his native, Pashto.
Inside the home, Mujeeb's first cousin and current Afghanistan player, Noor Zadran has set-up a cricketing facility which he refers to as the Noor Academy. Mujeeb's love for cricket began after watching the Afghan national team at the 2010 ICCâÂÂÂu00c2u0080ÂÂÂu00c2u0088World T20 event, a tournament where Noor represented Afghanistan. "I went to Noor Academy, that's where I began training and started to play the game. I must've been around 11 or 12 then. Later, I went to the Kost province academy," he added.
Mujeeb explained that his obsession of flicking a tennis ball with his fingers led him into develop ing a passion for spin bowling. "I started playing a lot of tape ball cricket [where a tennis ball is covered with plastic tap]. While bowling with that ball, I struggled to grip it [due to its smoothness], so I started flicking the ball with my fingers. Then, I watched some youtube videos of Sunil Narine [West Indies spinner] and Ajantha Mendis [Sri Lankan spinner] and learnt how they gripped the ball and flicked it with their middle finger. I started doing that and initially did not put power behind it.
It would be like a flighted off-spinner, but lowly, and after a lot practice, I eventually began to get some power behind my deliveries and was able to flick it harder" he said. Now, armed with a googly, a carom ball and a genuine off-break, Mujeeb is all set to grab the headlines at IPL-11. And of course with that Rs. 4 crore in his bank account, he might just have enough money to own his own haveli too.
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