ABD to miss BBL, Mujeeb re-signs with Brisbane Heat
South African superstar AB de Villiers will not participate in the upcoming Big Bash League as his wife is expecting birth of their third child. De Villiers, who is presently playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore, said that conditions pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic promoted him to opt out of the season. Meanwhile, the Brisbane Heat have re-signed Afghanistan's spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman.
"It's exciting with the arrival of our new baby very soon," De Villiers said. "So with a young, growing family, and the uncertainty around travel and conditions due to Covid-19, we reluctantly decided it wasn't going to be this season. The Heat were great to us last summer and I am very open to returning to the club," he added.
The Brisbane Heat acquired ABD in the previous edition. They had a patchy season, having finished on number seven with six wins in 14 matches. Despite Brisbane's dismal run, De Villiers racked up 146 runs from seven games at a decent average of 24.33, including a fifty It remains to be seen if he gets back with the franchise for the impending season.
The 360-degree batsman has been in fine form in the ongoing Indian Premier League season. Thus far, he has tallied 324 runs in 11 games at an incredible average of 54.00. He also has a terrific strike-rate of 174.19 to his name.
Brisbane heat coach Darren Lehmann clarified that the Proteas man will remain in contention for the next season as well. "We're very pleased for them. We'll stay in contact and see what develops. He has been in excellent touch in the IPL for Royal Challengers Bangalore, so he obviously remains a player we'd like to keep working with when the circumstances allow," he said.
Afghanistan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has been re-called by Brisbane for the forthcoming BBL season. This will be his third season for the franchise. The budding spinner scalped three wickets at an economy-rate of 6.16 last year. In the recently-concluded CPL, Mujeeb starred the wickets tally with 16 scalps. Presently, he is with Kings XI Punjab in the IPL.
Welcoming Mujeeb once again, Lehmann lavished praise on the off-spinner. "He's doing a lot of the little things as well as anyone, and his control and maturity have gone to a new level," Lehmann added. "He was outstanding in the CPL when he was the second leading wicket-taker in the competition and he's shown in the IPL that he can handle the very best."
